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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