In the mid-18th century, a beautiful Spanish noblewoman was forced to flee her home in Jamaica due to a colonial war. In the chaos, her loyal maid managed to take only her mistress’s jewelry box, which contained a pair of black pearl earrings and an old secret liqueur recipe. Later, the young noblewoman married and started a family. On her daughter’s wedding day, she passed on the jewelry box and the secret recipe, beginning a family tradition. She named the liqueur Tia Maria, in honor of her faithful maid.