""Over the centuries, the amount of rum changed from time to time. Prior to 1740, Pusser's Rum was issued to the men neat, that is without water. They received 1/2-pint twice daily!" "
from what I ahve seen of the very high cask strengths of rum casks stored in cooler climates, this daily allowance could have been 75% alcohol (150 US proof).
Geez. In my younger, dumber days, I drank a half pint of Bacardi's 151 in a night of partying. Put me in lala land. The hangover was enough to put me off rum forever.
On another occasion, I tried one swallow of Everclear, which immediately came back up. It never even made it to my stomach. My drinking nowadays consists of an occasional cold beer!