Well, most popular drink in Poland is glass with vodka, so...
Trust me, we do this to not get drunk so easily, we drink often to talk about topics that wouldn't come out in normal, conscious talk. Also many, many unusual things have a place after ritual of drinking. ave!
It's just our style, same like Germans drink beer and Frenchs drink wine etc. etc.
And Rum is not so bad after all. ;)