Overproof rum is perhaps the worst thing for you to drink. But don't let that stop you and trying it out. This is a crazy drink! This is one of the strongest drinks in existence! Wild things are bound to happen after consumption, with one of the worst hangovers imaginable coming up the day after downing half a bottle or so...

Overproof rum is supposed to be pure alcohol before opening the bottle. Some stories tell of how the last drops of water are removed in the process of bottling. However, there's no doubting that alcohol is in abundance, and overproof rum will rank among the strongest alcoholic beverages you will ever drink. Being pretty tasteless as well, it's not at all that bad to drink. But the blast coming up after a sip or two or three is awesome. The overproof rum was probably not meant for man to experience...

Overproof rums are found in many other parts of the world as well. Why people elsewhere would like to drink it, is hard to imagine. In Jamaica, though, it has a very revealing nickname - 'poor man's friend'. Drinking overproof rum will be the absolutely cheapest way of getting plastered in Jamaica, since both beer and normal rums are a lot more expensive. The overproof rum therefore makes drinking a lot more affordable in a country where people have little or no money. Just pour out a good fill of overproof into a glass, add a couple of drops of water, coke or any other soft drink you may fancy, and you have a glass of real firewater! Overproof is also said to be a cure for various illnesses, including toothaches (although hardly a cure for headaches...).

In Jamaica, there are at least two types of overproof rum. The first is the Wray and Nephews white rum, the other is JB rum.

Wray and Nephews White rum is found everywhere in Jamaica, and is very cheap! Even on the airport the price for a big bottle isn't more than around 8 bucks (at the time of writing), and elsewhere it may be even cheaper. Wray and Nephews is a white rum, being a colourless liquid, and is widely drunk in Jamaica. It is said that people tend to age a lot quicker after drinking this steadily for some years, with hair turning white and skin getting wrinkled before time's due course. This is definitely not a drink for beginners!

The more elusive and even stronger overproof rum found in Jamaica, is JB rum, being short for John Crow Batty rum. John Crow is the name of the vultures seen flying around Jamaica, the meaning of the name signifies the taste of the JB rum. It's supposed to be similar to the smell of a John Crow's butt, in other words, its posterior. Getting your hands on a bottle of JB rum may (thankfully) be very difficult. It is supposed to be found around the time of the sugar harvest when the best and strongest rum is reckoned to be made. It is said to be a brown liquid and not white like Wray and Nephews overproof rum. You should consider yourself lucky if you find yourself a bottle of JB rum. Then again, you may not...