Admiral Vernon's grog standard controls the rum ration

After 85 years of attempts to manage the spirit ration, Admiral Vernon standardized a mixture he had used as a captain. Half a pint of rum went into one quart of water, giving four parts water to one part rum. Rum was expected to make questionable stored water safer, an approach judged here to have mostly worked. Dividing the spirit allowance into smaller servings had failed because sailors saved it up or pooled their cups with friends. Grog still allowed drunkenness, but its dilution and the volume issued made rapid intoxication more difficult. Supervised mixing ensured the ration had the intended proportions. Standard quantities also made provisioning easier to plan.