1946 The Stock Club Bar Book by Lucius Beebe

The repertory of morning drink possibilities is practically endless and, indeed, bounded only by the human imagining and the human capacity for absorption. Old-timers will remember barkeeps of the last generation who made a practice of uncapping a bottle of beer by their bedside before retiring and drinking it, flat and warm, the next morning, in the belief that, since the beer was by now separated from its gaseous content, it would be in prime condition for reab– sorbing any gas that it tnight encounter and not;ably the gas of the human stomach. Before taking leave of the subject and moving into the less necessitous and utgent category of noontime life at the Stork it may be wise to consider the function of absinthe as a restorative, pick– me-up and general cure-all. It has been held in high esteem for this purpose by countless informed and knowing drinkers and, in all probability, has its uses. The great drawback to its use in the experience of the author, at least, has been its tendency to dull the appetite for food and consequently delay and diminish the con· sumption of solid food which, in the end, is the greatest of all restoratives after a night among the pots. Absinthe by reason of its chemistry is probably the briskest and most violent of bitters and there are many who are charmed with its poetic qualities, its historic antecedents, literary associations and other intangible aspects, and there are also many who admire its wormwood flavor and opalescent optical charms when used merely as a flavoring for drinks with other bases. If the amateur of its properties can really take it or leave it and shift either to a less treacherous drink or to food itself after a couple, there is probably no pick-me-up in the world comparable for immediate efficacy to an absinthe frappe.

36: Stork Club Bar Book