The storied Wazee Supper Club in Lodo has been serving pizza and cocktails since 1974. After recently undergoing a little urban renewal including an expansion of the kitchen, the Wazee is ready once again to take the downtown bar scene by storm with refreshed food and cocktail menus.

Bar manager Julie Pouppirt and head chef Bob Whitmer have been having all kinds of fun revamping the menus and trying new things. Whitmer in particular has a whole new kitchen to play with, including two stone ovens for the legendary housemade pizzas. The bar, while bringing in new tricks, is still focusing the old ways of cocktails. Most notably in the classics department, there's a traditional absinthe bar.

Banned in the US in 1912 for its supposedly hallucinogenic properties, absinthe was finally allowed re-entry to the US in 2007. Wazee’s absinthe bar features four excellent absinthes – Kubler Absinthe from Switzerland (where absinthe originated), Vieux Carre Absinthe Superieure made by Philadelphia Distilling, Lucid Superieure from France (one of the first absinthe products to be reintroduced into the US) and a local concoction, Leopold Bros Absinthe Verte, made right here in Denver. Guests can enjoy absinthe three ways.

First is the traditional way, and requires you to simply choose a brand. The bartender pours the anise liqueur intp a glass with elegant silver strainer on top that holds a cube of sugar. Then the glass goes beneath a decorative carafe of ice water with little water spigots. The bartender opens a spigot and water drips onto the sugar dissolving it into the glass. When the liquid turns cloudy, it is ready to drink. This provides a very herbal taste, sweetened by the sugar, with a black licorice finish.

The second way is in an absinthe cocktail called the Sparkling Absinthe, which is Kubler Absinthe with house champagne. This cloudy white concoction is served with a cherry, which looks quite striking inside the champagne glass. The drink looks a lot like Alka-Seltzer, but instead tastes like peppermint, and tickles the throat as it goes down.

Third is the Dixie, a cocktail that contains Kubler with orange liqueur, orange juice and lemon. All that orange does nothing to subdue the black licorice flavor of the absinthe so instead of a citrusy drink, you get a more earthy, botanical flavor with all the purity of the green fairy coming through. Definitely a taste for the bold.

Along with the absinthe bar, the Wazee Supper Club offers wines on tap from Colorado’s Infinite Monkey Theorem, 32 draft beers and 13 bottled wines by the glass — two bubblies, five whites and six reds. Pouppirt is also bringing back the tiki drink with a special version of the Pain Killer, served in a cool retro tiki glass (also available for purchase). Other new cocktails include the Grand Daddy Whiskey Sangria, Palisade Peach and Sweet ‘n' Spicy, with house infused jalapeno vodka.

If you haven’t been to the Wazee in a while, consider a visit and have a new drink with an old friend. Happy Hour is 3–6 PM and 10 PM–midnight, Monday–Friday with a $5 mini-menu and $5 cocktails (1600 15^th St.; 303-623-9518).