A Good Night Cap

[_honorentheos]

This thread is about good night caps. Not wet blankets. Go start a dry loser thread if you must, but please reserve this thread for suggestions in line with the OP.

Question. Does "night cap" necessarily mean something alcoholic? Could something like a smoothie or a root beer float or some other favorite, nonalcoholic beverage qualify as a night cap?

As alcohol is a depressant, a night-cap is generally taken to be an alcoholic beverage to help relax and calm you before going to bed. A root-beer float? Not so much.

To add, I wouldn't consider beer a good night cap because you are just going to be up peeing later.

While I would agree with MrB, lets suppose that the key criteria is that it serves to downshift gears from hard charging work day to reading a book and enjoying thinking about things. I don't know that a root beer float or smoothie necessarily does that but I'm open to expanding the question.

I will also add, though, that the alcohol in the night cap are the only carbs I ingest in the evening. Greens and leans. I'm well past the age I could indiscriminately eat late night carbs without their going right to my middle.

[_The CCC]

This thread is about good night caps. Not wet blankets. Go start a dry loser thread if you must, but please reserve this thread for suggestions in line with the OP.

A warm kitten is a good night cap. They are relaxing after a hard day at work, and lower blood pressure. They continue to do that long after that bottle of booze is long gone.

[_honorentheos]

You shouldn't drink it by the bottle for starters.

[_Jersey Girl]

Yoga makes a good night cap. Just mentioning.

[_The CCC]

You shouldn't drink it by the bottle for starters.

Last I looked it is bought by the bottle, and sometimes by the box.
SEE http://www.franzia.com/vintner-select.html

[_honorentheos]

And ice cream is usually sold by the quart but that doesn't mean it is best eaten that way. Referring to booze by the bottle is crazy prohibitionist talk.

[_The CCC]

I think any type of legal Prohibition was/is a colossal failure. People can live a long happy life and never touch a drop of booze. People can also live a long and happy life, and drink booze moderately. I've never heard of someone living a long and happy life drinking too much booze. My main point was that a warm kitten will still be there long after all that bottle of booze is drunk.

[_Gunnar]

As alcohol is a depressant, a night-cap is generally taken to be an alcoholic beverage to help relax and calm you before going to bed. A root-beer float? Not so much.

Good point! I should have thought of that. Probably the main reason I didn't is that having something sweet like a dessert or a smoothie doesn't seem to affect me that way so much. I have little trouble getting to sleep regardless. My metabolism is funny that way.

To add, I wouldn't consider beer a good night cap because you are just going to be up peeing later.

At my age, I more likely than not wind up having to get up and pee in the middle of the night anyway, regardless of whether or not I imbibed something before going to bed.

[Guest]

Cigars are funny in that I tend to agree regarding the secondhand smell of an old cigar. Cigars are also one of the things I've found where quality REALLY influences the experience itself. Other than hidden zucchini, I can't imagine there being such a thing as bad chocolate cake. But I'm very selective about cigars because a bad cigar is terrible while a good one is simply delish. A good cigar with a cup of good coffee - mmmmm, Sunday morning perfection.

Sort of like violin music, perhaps. Nothing is sweeter to my ear than the sound of a well played violin, and few things sound worse than a poorly played one. However, in the case of cigars, I can't imagine there being any such thing as a good cigar. That is, to me, about as oxymoronic as anything I can imagine!

As for zucchini and chocolate cake, if you like zucchini, as I do, that doesn't necessarily sound bad to me. I love my wife's zucchini bread, especially when she adds chocolate chips to the recipe. I realize, of course, that not everyone likes zucchini. If you don't, that might not seem so appealing. I enjoy a slice or two of freshly baked and still warm zucchini bread as a before bedtime snack, with or without chocolate chips baked into it.

[_Gunnar]

While I would agree with MrB, lets suppose that the key criteria is that it serves to downshift gears from hard charging work day to reading a book and enjoying thinking about things. I don't know that a root beer float or smoothie necessarily does that but I'm open to expanding the question.

It does seem to do that for me, but I may be unusual in that respect.

I will also add, though, that the alcohol in the night cap are the only carbs I ingest in the evening. Greens and leans. I'm well past the age I could indiscriminately eat late night carbs without their going right to my middle.

My body has always had a very forgiving metabolism, and it has never seemed to matter a whole lot what, how much or little I eat, or when I eat it. My weight varies only about few (5-10) pounds up or down within a moderate range well short of obesity, and my belly stays relatively flat, even though I am a senior citizen, and one of the older people posting on this forum. I admit though that my metabolism is not quite as forgiving as when I was a teenager. I do weigh a few pounds more than when I first got married 49 years ago, and have a bit thicker layer of fat around my middle than I used to have, but my belly is still pretty flat and doesn't hang over my belt. So far, I can eat pretty much whatever, how much or when I want without any worries about gaining excessive weight or an unsightly spare tire around my middle.

Perhaps the real key to my situation is that I eat when I feel hungry (which can sometimes be quite often), and don't usually eat when I am not hungry. In other words, I am more of an eat to live type of guy than a live to eat type of guy, though I do indeed enjoy good food of all types.