(Mental Floss) -- It's hard to walk down the aisle of a liquor store without running across a bottle bearing someone's name.



A costumed reveler at a Captain Morgan party celebrates the rum named after the 17th century privateer.



We put them in our cocktails, but how well do we know them?



Here's some biographical detail on the men behind your favorite tipples:



1. Captain Morgan



The Captain wasn't always just the choice of sorority girls looking to blend spiced rum with Diet Coke; in the 17th century he was a feared privateer.



Not only did the Welsh pirate marry his own cousin, he ran risky missions for the governor of Jamaica, including capturing some Spanish prisoners in Cuba and sacking Port-au-Prince in Haiti.



He then plundered the Cuban coast before holding for ransom the entire city of Portobelo, Panama.



He later looted and burned Panama City, but his pillaging career came to an end when Spain and England signed a peace treaty in 1671.



Instead of getting in trouble for his high-seas antics, Morgan received knighthood and became the lieutenant governor of Jamaica. Mental Floss: 5 drinking stories that put yours to shame



2. Johnnie Walker



Walker, the name behind the world's most popular brand of Scotch whisky, was born in 1805 in Ayrshire, Scotland.



When his father died in 1819, Johnnie inherited a trust of a little over 400 pounds, which the trustees invested in a grocery store.



Walker became a very successful grocer in the town of Kilmarnock and even sold a whisky, Walker's Kilmarnock Whisky.



Johnnie's son Alexander was the one who actually turned the family into famous whisky men, though.



Alexander had spent time in Glasgow learning how to blend teas, but he eventually returned to Kilmarnock to take over the grocery from his father.



Alexander turned his blending expertise to whisky, and came up with "Old Highland Whisky," which later became Johnnie Walker Black Label.



3. Jack Daniel



Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel of Tennessee whiskey fame was the descendant of Welsh settlers who came to the United States in the early 19th century.



He was born in 1846 or 1850 and was one of 13 children.



By 1866 he was distilling whiskey in Lynchburg, Tennessee.



Unfortunately for the distiller, he had a bit of a temper. One morning in 1911 Daniel showed up for work early and couldn't get his safe open.



He flew off the handle and kicked the offending strongbox. The kick was so ferocious that Daniel injured his toe, which then became infected.



The infection soon became the blood poisoning that killed the whiskey mogul.



Curious about why your bottle of J.D. also has Lem Motlow listed as the distillery's proprietor? Daniel's own busy life of distilling and safe-kicking kept him from ever finding a wife and siring an heir, so in 1907 he gave the distillery to his beloved nephew Lem Motlow, who had come to work for him as a bookkeeper. Mental Floss: The many myths of Jack Daniel



4. Jose Cuervo



In 1758, Jose Antonio de Cuervo received a land grant from the King of Spain to start an agave farm in the Jalisco region of Mexico.



Jose used his agave plants to make mescal, a popular Mexican liquor. In 1795, King Carlos IV gave the land grant to Cuervo's descendant Jose Maria Guadalupe de Cuervo.



Carlos IV also granted the Cuervo family the first license to commercially make tequila, so they built a larger factory on the existing land.



The family started packaging their wares in individual bottles in 1880, and in 1900 the booze started going by the brand name Jose Cuervo.



The brand is still under the leadership of the original Jose Cuervo's family; current boss Juan-Domingo Beckmann is the sixth generation of Cuervo ancestors to run the company.



5. Jim Beam



Jim Beam, the namesake of the world's best-selling bourbon whiskey, didn't actually start the distillery that now bears his name.



His great-grandfather Jacob Beam opened the distillery
What did Jack Daniel lose to? When was the real Jack Daniel born? Who did Captain Morgan marry? What country did Capt. Morgan plunder?
blood poisoning 1846 or 1850 his own cousin, Cuban
question: What did Jack Daniel lose to?, answer: blood poisoning | question: When was the real Jack Daniel born?, answer: 1846 or 1850 | question: Who did Captain Morgan marry?, answer: his own cousin, | question: What country did Capt. Morgan plunder?, answer: Cuban