LAST CALL

AT THE

NIGHTSHADE
LOUNGE

CHAPTER ONE

Bailey Chen was taking care of some serious business.

Hello? She plugged a finger into her non-cell-phone ear.
Jess? Are you still there? I was just saying that I think Divinyls
doing some really interesting things with their business model
Yup! said a perky-sounding female. Thats great! So you
probably know were
A revolutionary return to revolving music, Bailey recited.
The company thats bringing the retro sound of vinyl to the convenience of a mobile platform. I think thats really, uh She cast
around for the right word. Cool? Awesome? What could you really
say about an audio-filter app that took sharp, clear mp3s and re-rendered them into record-styled hiss- and pop-filled playback?
Anything, she reminded herself, anything as long as it landed
her an interview.
. . . really innovative, Bailey said. And Id love to come in
and talk with you.
She heard a crackle on the line, and Bailey wondered for a split
second if it was an intentional throwback designed into Divinyls
corporate phone system or just a side effect of her shitty cell
reception.
Totally! Jess said. God, can you believe we havent talked
since, like, high school? We have so much to catch up on.
Oh, Bailey said. Um, yeah!

12

last call at the nightshade lounge

Bailey could believe they hadnt talked since, like, high school
because they hadnt talked that much in high school. But maybe Jess
was one of those people who had dramatically changed in college.
Besides, if Bailey landed the job, Jess would probably be her first
office friend. They could do business-lady things, like go out for
chopped salads. Or, even better, make an intern bring them chopped
salads, which they would eat in their spacious, window-filled corner
offices while planning total domination of their market sector. (And
maybe online-shopped for statement necklaces, because it was, after
all, their lunch break.)
Bailey smiled. If shed ever had a mental picture of success, that
was it: lunch delivery, ruthless business sense, and power jewelry.
Bailey?
Sorry, Jess, Im here. So do you have any time coming up this
week or
Bailey!
This time her name was not coming from the phone. Zane
Whelans shaggy-haired head appeared over the end of the bar, his
square eyeglasses gleaming. There you are!
Shit. Um, gotta go, Bailey chirped into her phone, but
callmebackwhenyougetach
Zane frowned. Are you . . . talking to someone?
Hydrangeas, Bailey said quickly.
Huh?
Hydrangeas, wisterias, oleander, rhododendron, and anthurium, Bailey said, nodding to the trivia emcee gamely grinning
down at a clipboard from behind her microphone. Five of, uh, the
most common poisonous plants.
Anthurium? Zane blinked. That sounds like something
from a B movie.
Bailey pocketed her phone. Well, its real.
The emcee paced the bar floor, shooting pleading glances at

13

paul krueger

each team. Come on, guys, she said, with microphone-added reverb. I only need five.Youve still got twenty seconds left toyes!
You.
The captain of a team of yuppies had leapt to his feet.Oleander,
poinsettia, dandel
But just as he said dandelion, a buzzer drowned him out.
Duh, Bailey said under her breath. Dandelions are edible.
Really? Zane said.
Theyre good in salads.
Sorry. The emcee shook her head like a rueful gameshow
host. Dandelions may not taste great, but they are not poisonous.
Theyre actually
Bailey mouthed the rest of the sentence: edible and good
in salads.
Wow. Zane tapped out a few polite claps. Im impressed.
Oh, um, dont be, Bailey said, praying he wouldnt ask about
the phone call. Poinsettias arent toxic to humans unless you eat,
like, five hundred leaves. She should have called him on that one.
Hey, ease up. Not everyone in this bars an Ivy League
graduate.
Bailey flushed. I didnt mean
But Zane was grinning. Because that distinction is the exclusive territory of our smartest barback.
He patted her shoulder, and Bailey tried not to cringe.
Right, she said. Thanks.
And as the smartest barback at the Nightshade Lounge
Zane went onyou really should know better than to go sit on
the floor during a busy shift.
Im sorry, Im sorry, Bailey rushed to say. I just had to, uh,
the music
Music? Zane shook his head. Bailey, that jukebox has
probably been here since the sixties. It totally doesnt work. You

14

last call at the nightshade lounge

know that.
Right, Bailey said. Sometimes it felt like nothing worked at
the Nightshade Lounge except Bailey. And Zane, of course.
Zane gave the jukebox a fond pat on its cracked glass. Anyway.
Dont slack on me, okay?
Im not, Bailey protested. If there was one thing she wasnt, it
was a slacker. Im just
Look, Bailey, I told my uncle you could do this job with no
experience, Zane said. And you can do it. But if you dont . . .
He cleared his throat and continued in a low voice. I dont want to
have to fire you the first week.
Bailey could only nod. She wanted to explainSorry, Zane, that
Im not only looking for the first opportunity to ditch the job you pulled
major strings to get me but also doing it while on the clockbut instead
gave him the truncated version: Sorry. Yup.
Good. Zane smiled. Hed shown up to work wearing what
he always wore: a slim old three-piece suit, complete with loosely knotted tie and rumpled dress shirt, which made him look like
a Swinging London modster about to zip off on a candy-colored
scooter. And in return, Ill continue to pay you and act as your
beneficent overlord.
More glasses! Trina, the redheaded bartender who was
Zanes counterweight that night, yelled at them from the other end.
Sometime this century, please? she added. Not those glasses, Zane.
You already made that joke, like, five minutes ago.
Zane crammed his spectacles back onto his face. I still think
its funny.
On it, Bailey said, glad for the abrupt end to the conversation. She scooted along in the narrow space behind them, calling
out, On your back! On your back! as she passed. After depositing
a freshly cleaned stack of old fashioned glasses by Trinas side, she
glanced at the garnish tray.

15

paul krueger

Thanks, Trina said. Im low on

Cucumbers, Bailey said with a nod. On it. On your back, on
your back . . .
Bailey Zane said as she passed.
More towels? Bailey knew Zane could never have enough
towels.
Damn, youre good. He plunged a spoon into his shaker and
stirred the contents into a froth.
On the one hand, Bailey was well suited to the job of barback.
Her small stature meant she could navigate the cramped bar with
ease. Her sharp eye for details and logistics allowed her to solve
problems before they became problemsa shortage of cucumber
slices, for instance. Her Ivy League education . . . well, the really nice
UPenn bottle opener shed gotten sure came in handy. And though
she liked people well enough, she wasnt always the best when dealing with them. But as a barback she didnt have to. She just had to
keep shuttling supplies and ensuring the line moved smoothly.
On the other hand, barbacking was a terrible job.
The Ravenswood neighborhood had plenty of bars, but the
Nightshade was an institution (which, in Chicago, more or less
meant a place that stubbornly refused to close).The dark drapes, low
lights, and worn-down emerald-colored booth cushions evoked
a kind of comfortably faded Second City swankemphasis on faded, because Bailey was pretty sure the cushions hadnt been replaced
since at least the Carter administration. But while the place wasnt
trendy enough to serve fourteen-dollar cocktails, it wasnt crappy
enough to sell only cheapie cans of light lager either.
Even though it seemed to Bailey like Garrett Whelan had no
business savvy whatsoever, the Nightshade did a brisk business selling mixed drinks to mixed company. So in theory her duties as
barback should have been:

16

last call at the nightshade lounge

1. Keep bartenders supplied with a steady stream of clean

glasses while removing the used ones.
2. Make sure each garnish tray is well stocked at all times.
3. Regularly check the garbage, taking it out before it
overflows
(Bailey did her best work when she could prioritize everything,
preferably in list form.)
At the height of a rush, however, her list was far more likely to
look like this:
1. DO EVERYTHING.
2. RIGHT NOW.
3. OR ELSE.
All night, every night she never stopped moving. No matter
how on top of the situation she was, there was always another fire
to put out.
And then there were the customers. They started the evening
pleasant enough. But a few rounds had the same effect as a trip to
Pinocchios Pleasure Island: anyone could turn into an ass.
So thatll be a martini for me, one of the hard-core trivia
enthusiasts slurred at her awhile later. She leaned over the bar and
gazed down at Bailey with glassy eyes.
Bailey greeted the girl with a patient smile. Im sorry, but Im
just a bar-back, she said. I cant make
two glasses of whiskey with ice, the girl continued. And
for Trevhey, Trev! What do you want?
A few paces away Trev muttered.
Oh, yeah, said the girl.A Long Island iced tea.With her lazy,

17

paul krueger

boozy diction, the order came out lawn-ilan-icy.

Bailey doubled down on her outward customer friendliness,
even as her internal patience evaporated. Im sorry, maam, she
said again, but I
Zane appeared like magic. Ladies, he said smoothly, positioning himself between his barback and members of the Wreck Your
Privilege trivia team. I know a thing or two about making a decent Long Island. Why dont you leave it to me?
His performance felt increasingly unreal as Bailey watched.The
Zane shed always known had been clumsy and awkward, but apparently a lot changed when you hadnt seen someone for five years.
This version of Zane effortlessly charmed his customers, entertaining them while he mixed their drinks with the showy vigor of
a stage magician.
Speaking of people whove changed since high school, she thought,
and then squashed the notion as quickly as it appeared. Yes, high
school Zane had been the kind of guy who couldnt admit to his
feelings for his best friend Bailey until a couple of beers at Luke
Perezs graduation party had loosened his tongue . . . and Baileys
pants.Yes, talking to Zane two weeks ago had been a catch-up session even more awkward than her theoretical upcoming please
give me a job chat with Jess. But no, overall, things were fine. Zane
and Bailey were friends again, and it wasnt too awkward (which
was good). Hed even given her a job to help get her parents off
her back (which was even better). And if the only side effect was
her own sudden, terminal uncoolness, well, so be it. She probably
deserved it.
You know, Bailey said, itd probably help if you taught me
how to make drinks. Just for when you or Trina are too busy. The
bar lifestyle had wreaked havoc on her sleep schedule and her social
life, and the pay truly sucked, but calling herself a bartender was at
least kind of cool and would sound less embarrassing when she got

18

last call at the nightshade lounge

around to having friends again.

Zane shook his head.No dice, he said.No offense, but youre
not ready.
Not ready? Bailey was incredulous. What happened to
smartest barback?
Youre also our only barback, Zane said. And right now
thats where I need you. Okay?
Bailey tried not to scowl. Okay.
Zane nodded his head toward the blank spot behind him that
Trina shouldve been occupying. Its gonna be a little busy for
a bit, he said. Trinas stepping out for a smoke.
Ah, yes, Bailey thought. Wouldnt be an evening at the Nightshade
without one of the staff taking a suspiciously long smoke break right at
the height of the rush. All the bartenders, even Zane, usually excused
themselves during shifts, leaving Bailey and the remaining bartender
to hold down the fortwhich, fine, drinking and smoking did kind
of go hand in hand. But as far as she could tell, none of the lounges
staff smoked: no tobacco smell, no yellow teeth, no pack-size faded
spot on their pockets.
Zane, she asked slowly, do you have a light?
Huh? No. Why?
Interesting, Bailey thought. No reason, she said. What do you
need me to do?
Zane winced. Im sorry to ask
Baileys heart sank. Zane had no poker face. Whatever he was
about to say, it wasnt going to be pretty. But unfortunately not
pretty was her job.
What is it? she said. Spit it out.
Funny you should use that phrasing, Zane said. Someone
mustve been feeling a little, ah, soft-boiled. Womens bathroom
How bad?
Zane smiled weakly. She almost made it.

19

paul krueger

Hey! Suit guy! yelled a Cubs fan. Were thirsty over here!
Zane nodded to him. Sorry, he said. Really, sorry. And then
he was off, grabbing a shaker and glass of ice as he went.
Bailey spent a half hour scrubbing the bathroom to a serviceable shine, though she knew full well someone would undo all her
work the second she put the mop and bucket away. She probably
couldve gotten to the bar faster by half-assing the job, but being
detail oriented was so entwined in her DNA that she couldnt leave
things unfinished, no matter how stupid or gross they were. By
the time she rejoined Zane on the line, that goddamn bathroom
sparkled.
The trivia game was winding down as Bailey slipped behind
the bar, and even though shed flitted in and out all night, she still
mentally answered more questions than most of the teams, faltering
only in classic literature. So I havent read every book, Bailey thought.
Trivia was just a test of fact retention, and her brain was as absorbent
as a sponge.
Also, she thought as she replenished the plastic straws without being asked, Im a self-starter. Think of what I could do in the right
environment.
With a bang that rattled the glasses on the shelves, Trina returned from her smoke break (decidedly not smelling of cigarettes,
Bailey noted), and more and people filtered out. By a half hour from
closing, only a few customers remained. Zane sent Trina home early,
leaving just him and Bailey to close up.
That was fun, he said, as if theyd just stepped off the best
roller coaster ever.
Bailey looked at him sidelong, estimating whether sufficient
distance separated her from his insanity.
Oh, come on, he said. You didnt have a fun night in the
trenches? He playfully dropped into a boxers crouch and swiped
at the air.

20

last call at the nightshade lounge

They didnt box in the trenches, she said. They used longrange bombardment weapons. Can you mime a howitzer?
As soon as I learn what that is, he said. Youre telling me
you dont get anything out of the rush times? Not even a trickle of
adrenaline?
Zane, adrenalines something your body makes to stop you
from dying horribly. She plunked down a martini glass, which he
snatched right up and dried off. In tandem they worked with assembly-line efficiency. And no, she said, its not fun. Jobs arent
supposed to be. Thats why theyre jobs.
Theyre not supposed to be, but that doesnt mean they cant
be, right?
Bailey grunted.
Well, hey, he said. You wanna come out tonight? Me and
some of the other bartenders around town like to stop in at Neros
Griddleyou remember Neros, right?
Bailey barely had time to nod.
And youve gotta meet this buddy of mine who works down
in Boystown, and, more important, my girlf
At that Bailey snapped to attention, but Zane was frowning at
his phone. Whatever he was reading had snuffed out his smile.
What is it? she said, more curious about his trailed-off sentence than whatever was on his phone. Only one word started with
girlf, and it wasnt one shed ever heard Zane use about himself.
I have to go. Zane crammed his phone back into his pocket.
He looked serious, even grim, as if he were barely aware that Bailey
was still there, and then reached for supplies: lime juice, triple sec,
a bottle of tequila that he produced from under the counter.
Hey! Bailey cried. We just cleaned those
I need you to close up, Bailey. Zane slapped the lid on his
now-full shaker, which he started to shake with a weirdly exact
rhythm, rattling the ice cubes against the metal sides in a seven-point

21

paul krueger

beat. He grabbed a margarita glass, dipped the rim in water, and then
jammed it into the salt dish and twisted. He strained the contents
of the shaker into the salt-rimmed glass, then dropped in one of the
last remaining lime wedges.The lime bobbed a bit against the cubes,
and in the low bar light, the glass seemed to be glowing green.
Zane snatched up the drink, took a few deep gulps, and
squeezed his eyes against what looked like a brain freeze. You
know the drill, he said. Set the dishwasher, clean out the trays, and
give the counters a good polish. The rest of it we can handle when
we open tomorrow night. Just lock up when youre done and get
home safe, okay?
Bailey frowned. Whats going on?
Dont worry about it. Well do breakfast another midnight.
But
Zane was already vaulting over the bar and headed for the
door. When he yanked it open, Bailey caught a glimpse of someone
standing outside, an angular woman with dreadlocks. The moment
the woman saw Zane, she took off running, and the two of them
sped off into the night.
The doors swung shut again, leaving Bailey alone in the quiet,
empty bar.
Angry, a little pissed off, and too late into the night to call Jess
to pin down an interview, she slammed the dishwasher shut, rattling
every glass and cup inside. She trudged back into the front to polish
off the counter, seriously ready to call it a night. Starting at Zanes
end, she moved her rag in small circles, systematically eliminating
any hint of grime or spillage. Everywhere her towel went, it stayed
until the surface beneath was a varnished brown mirror.
As she made her way to Trinas end, something caught her eye:
a small hole in the space beneath the counter. As she approached,
she realized it wasnt just a hole; it was a gap between panels that
looked like it could slide open. She pushed it wide openit must

22

last call at the nightshade lounge

have been designed to stay flush with the wall when closedand
found a row of six small bottles: four clearish, two pale browny. All
the elementary liquorsvodka, tequila, gin, rum (light and dark),
and whiskeyand all with the same labelnot Jack Daniels or
Seagrams or anything she recognized, but one with no name and
a logo of two interlocked Cs.
She reached for one, popped the cork, and took a sniff: vodka.
The good stuff as far as she could tell. Her first instinct was to put
it right back; after all, it was Nightshade inventory, and hidden in
a secret compartment besides. Instead, she grabbed a spare glass,
some ice, and the carton of orange juice in the mini-fridge under
the sink. Zane had a strict no-drinking policy while on the job, but
this hardly counted. And after tonight shed fucking earned it.
Not ready yet, she thought as the ice cracked under her measured shot of vodka.What was to be ready for? Look at me now, Zane.
Im making a drink, and Im managing. Having filled the glass with
orange juice, she stuck in a straw, gave it a quick stir, and replaced
the bottle, shutting the secret compartment and promising herself
shed ask Zane or Trina tomorrow what the hell that was about.
Then she turned and admired the fruit of her labors: a freshly made
screwdriver.
The drink gleamed cheerfully on the counter, just as Zanes
margarita had. Bailey squinted upward. Maybe a bulb was out
or one of the neon signs was leaking (could they leak?), making
the tainted air cast everything in an extra-glittery glow. Whatever.
Drinks were for drinking, not for gawking at, and so thats exactly
what Bailey did.
Bailey had had screwdrivers before. Usually they were slapdash
concoctions, little more than orange juice and vodka splashed together inside a red Solo cup. But this one was no dorm room special; rather than clash, the vodka and orange juice harmonized. The
drink was sweet and tangy and cold, and the liquid burned just the

23

paul krueger

right amount on the way down. Bailey had intended to take only
small sips, but when she pulled the glass away from her lips, she was
surprised to see shed already downed half.
Well, she thought as the delicious feeling spread from her stomach to her toes, Ill have to drink more screwdrivers.
When she swung out the front door ten minutes later, she
felt even warmer inside. Warm, but not tipsy or clumsy. Refreshed.
Curiously refreshed. Probably the best shed ever felt postshift. She
jammed her key into the door to lock up like the dutiful employee
she was. Except somehow she really jammed it because when she
turned the key, it stuck. Shed completely bent it.
Shit.
Bailey stared at her hand, wondering how shed manage to
warp a solid piece of metal when she had trouble opening twist-off
beers. Prepared to struggle, she dug in her heels and yanked, but the
key came out so easily she stumbled backward. Stunned and a little
woozy, she stared at the crooked key in her palm, then daintily took
it in her fingertips and slowly, tentatively, bent it upward. The metal
yielded to her hands. The key was utterly straight and good as new.
No harm done, Bailey told herself. She dropped her keys into
a jacket pocket and started to stroll home, wishing she knew how to
whistle so she could complete the picture.
Ravenswood had been a rough little neighborhood on the
North Side when her parents moved in, but gentrification set in
during the twenty-odd years since. Now it felt like a suburb that had
been swallowed, whole and unchewed, by a big city. Damen Avenue,
where the Nightshade Lounge sat on the corner of Leland, was as
business district-y as the neighborhood got, lined with closed-forthe-night shops, a few parked cars, and the occasional tree. In the
distance a late-night Brown Line train trundled along its elevated
track. Sunnyside Avenue, where she was headed and where she now
livedagainwith her parents, was quiet, with squat houses set

24

last call at the nightshade lounge

behind small well-kept lawns and raised front porches. Everywhere,

people hung up the city flag of Chicagotwo blue stripes on white,
with four red stars in the middleas if city hall was afraid that people this far north would forget where they were living.
As Bailey turned onto Leland, she felt the hairs prick on the
back of her neck. She wasnt weird about walking by herself
this was her home turf after all, and she possessed an above-average amount of street smarts thanks to a mandatory girls-only session during orientation week called Sisters Self-Defendin It for
Ourselves. But while Damen was the main drag, with streetlights
and shop windows and potential witnesses, Leland was more secluded, especially after last call. Despite the warm September night, she
shivered and quickened her pace, glancing over her shoulder. No
ones there, she told herself. Just a few more blocks.
But the more she walked, the more certain she was that she
was hearing something: a skittering noise down the block, something rustling through the leaves on the ground., Bailey thought it
was probably a rat or a raccoon, but then again, she wasnt sure she
knew this neighborhood anymore. Maybe there were muggers now.
Vaguely recalling her instructors method for self-defendin it, Bailey
whipped out her keys, brandishing them like tiny daggers between
her knuckles.
I can hear you, she said a little shakily. I know youre there.
Confidence lets your attacker know youre not an easy target! the
instructor had told them. Remember the acronym S-A-F-E: stay alert,
announce, f-something.
Shit, what was F? Focus? Well, she was trying to. Bailey pivoted
but saw nothing distinct enough to focus on.
But she could hear it.
And then it came out of the darkness. Whatever was following
her wasnt just another hungover coed in gym shorts. It didnt even
look human: too low to the ground, eyes too yellow. Glowing yellow.

25

paul krueger

Good boy, Bailey said, keys held high. Nice b

But it wasnt a dog. It was something awful that shed never
seen before.
Before she could scream, something rammed into her, hard and
dense, like a cannonball to the ribs. Her head smacked the pavement, her elbow skinned across asphalt. The not-a-dog was heavy
on top of her: a horrible, squirming, four-legged thing the size of
a German shepherd, with a head like a protruding tumor and limbs
covered in naked ropes of salmon-colored muscle.
Bailey scrambled under it, the world spinning from alcohol and
adrenaline. The thing was pawing at her with stubby feet and she
couldnt keep it off, couldnt wrestle away, couldnt escape.
Oh, God, she thought. Im going to die. Here, on the streets of
Ravenswood, less than half a mile from where shed grown up, less
than half a block from where shed just scrubbed a toilet.
No, Bailey thought. No. No. The slimy weight on her chest
was too heavy for her to draw breath for a scream, and the world
was going fuzzy around her. God, no. This was how it ended, not
with a bang but with a minimum-wage job and a heap of student
debt. Bailey cringed, and with all her dizzied, nauseated might, she
mustered up one stupid, single, and probably final thought:
Fuck. That. Shit.
And she kicked. Hard.
It worked. She pushed the thing away with the soles of her
sneakers and, before she had time to think, sprang to her feet, closed
her eyes, and threw the hardest punch of her life.
It was ugly and clumsy, and her fist hooked around the things
side instead of slamming it head-on. But her knuckles met flesh, and
in a spray of black blood, its head caved in like a rotted pumpkin.
Shit! Bailey yelped, and leapt back. The remains of the animal-things body splatted to the concrete. Smoke curled up from
the edges of its limbs, as if it were a leaf catching fire, and the night

26

last call at the nightshade lounge

air filled with a thick chemical stench. Bailey coughed, shielding her
eyes, and before she even had time to worry about how to scrape
the nasty mess off the pavement, the things body collapsed with an
abrupt squelch.
Bailey jumped back from the puddle, out of the street, and cast
around wildly for something else: A pack? A flock? Another pair of
yellow eyes? But she saw nothing. Just a quiet street and a fizzing
pool of dead-smelling . . . something.
She clamped her bloodstained hands over her mouth and
smothered a scream. The screwdriver roiled inside her. Her arms
and legs shook like it was below freezing, and her heart squeezed
painfully with every breath.
She wasnt safe. She wasnt safe, and she was going to be sick.
Terrified and trembling, Bailey did what she apparently did
best: she fled back home.

27

74

THE

DEV IL S

WAT ER

DIC TIONA RY.

The Screwdriver

A drink to lend gravitas to the beginner bartender

1. Fill a highball glass with ice.

2. Pour glass one-third full of
vodka.
3. Fill remaining two-thirds of
glass with orange juice.
4. Stir once and serve.

he screwdriver is one of bartendings most basic and

useful cocktails. Though one cannot oversell the importance of a quick mind and a good heart in the life of a bartender, occasions arise when the best tonic is pure brawn. In
this department, the screwdriver remains unmatched.
Bartenders favor this cocktail for myriad reasons. Its ingredients are few, cheap, and easily obtainable in all but the
most remote places. It can be mixed quickly, in the event that
one has been caught flat-footed while also being conveniently within arms reach of a fully stocked bar. And though the
abilities granted by the proper preparation of other libations
may require years of steady practice to master, drinkers of the
screwdriver have found that hitting things very hard in the
face until they die is rather straightforward.
VODK A.
Unfortunately, records of vodka in the pre-Blackout era are
sparse; however, its use is known to date back to at least the

74

THE

DEV IL S

WAT ER

DIC TIONA RY.

1400s, when its existence was first attested in Polish court

documents. Vodka (diminutive of the Russian voda, water)
was thenanecdotallythe only thing known to convince
Slavic men to leave their homes in the dead of winter, let alone
to hunt prowling tremens. Traditionally distilled from sugar-rich cereal grains or potatoes, vodka also found a secondary medicinal use as a restorative aqua vitae, its strengthening
properties being mistaken for healing ones.
Post-Blackout, vodka found its way to American shores in
the saddlebags of the Polish cavalier Casimir Pulaski, who encouraged its bibulation amongst the cavalrymen he trained to
fight in the American Revolution. Though he expressly forbade its use in open battle, his horsemen would frequently be
dispatched with rations of vodka to patrol the fringes of his
encampments and root out lurking tremens.

OR ANGE JUICE.
The logistical difficulty of producing mass quantities of orange juice sidelined its use for many years as a bartending
curiosity and little else. It wasnt until the mid-twentieth
century and the advent of widespread refrigerated trucking
systems that bartenders were able to incorporate it regularly
into their repertoires. For best results, fresh-squeezed juice is
recommended; if none is available, canned orange juice, with
its higher vitamin C content, is preferable to standard grocery bottles or cartons. It is unknown who created this particular combination, but the name screwdriver was coined by
Frederick Leeds, a Florida bartender who claimed that he used
the drink to help him remove from his boat hitch a screw that
had rusted into place.