Old Bay Seasoning is a blend of herbs and spices that is marketed in the United States by McCormick & Company and originally created in Baltimore, Maryland.

[2] Some of the other spices that may be used are laurel leaves, mustard, cardamom, cloves and ginger[3] as listed in the original product in the Baltimore Museum of Industry.

[8] The origins of the company can be traced back to Wertheim, Germany, where Brunn started a wholesale spice and seasoning business selling to food industries, seeing an opportunity as spices were in especially short supply amidst hyperinflation in the aftermath of World War I.

[9] Due to rising antisemitism as the Nazi Party rose to power, the company moved to Frankfurt, Germany;[10] however, on the night of November 9, 1938, a massive pogrom against Jews, known as Kristallnacht, led to Brunn being arrested by Nazi soldiers and sent to Buchenwald concentration camp.

McCormick has since changed back to metal cans for its line of Pure Ground Black Pepper, however, the plastic containers for Old Bay Seasoning remain the same.

Some bars in the Baltimore region also often sell what is known as a 'Crabby Bo', which is National Bohemian beer where the lip of the glass or mug being used is moistened and dipped into a container of Old Bay seasoning.

In 2014, the Maryland-based brewery Flying Dog created an Old Bay-inspired summer ale named Dead Rise to celebrate the seasoning's 75th anniversary.