In 1849 at the age of 22, Londoner Alfred Lamb, son of wine and spirits merchant William Lamb, blended 18 different rums from Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad to produce Lamb’s Navy Rum, establishing the company Alfred Lamb & Sons. Alfred Lamb never retired, and continued to fight for rum distilled from sugar cane rather than sugar beet. Sadly, Alfred Lamb & Sons was bombed out of its London premises on Great Tower Street in World War II, though the brand prevailed.
In 1970, the British Royal Navy decided to end the daily rum rations given to its sailors, inspiring the brand to adopt the iconic advertising campaign, "Join the Lamb’s Navy" that same year.
Lamb’s became part of the Allied Lyons portfolio in 1984, which itself was acquired (by Pernod Ricard in 2005.