‘They served in a land where wine and beer are common beverages.We who came from a country of

‘They served in a land where wine and beer are common beverages.

We who came from a country of hard liquor learned that the French took their wine with their meals. Our habit was one extreme or the other; either hard liquor or nothing. Our soldiers who had been brought up as teetotalers, when they served with French units and were given the French pinard, found it unpalatable. It soured their stomach. Americans did not take their hard liquor with their meals. When we had it for a party at home we served it as cocktails on empty stomach instead of taking it with our food. Ask any doctor which is the healthier of the two customs if you insist following one or the other…’

Drink Lessons from France – Frederick Palmer, WW1 War correspondent - The American Legion Weekly — Photo: American ambulance drivers sharing an al fresco meal with beaucoup pinard and Champagne – Amherst Black Cats