We’ve got the tough job of bringing you top-shelf drinks coverage from below the Mason-Dixon Line. But we’d be remiss if we didn’t at least mention the flip side of the Southern drink revival— the inevitable hangover. So to help keep those headaches at bay, we asked some of our contributors to recommend their go-to remedies (and threw in a few of our own). With cures that run the gamut from Carolina barbecue and cracklings to chocolate, we’ve got plenty of ways for you to find a little relief.
Jack Thompson
Derek Brown
Drink Company, The Columbia Room
Washington, D.C.
Egg drop soup. Walk up and down stairs. Ibuprofen. Go back to sleep. I have a little crappy Chinese store around the corner. That’s it. Otherwise, I’m always stocked with Gatorade and ibuprofen.
Gary Crunkleton
The Crunkleton
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
A Mountain Dew and a Mr. Goodbar is my remedy. I also recommend staying hydrated while drinking.
Neal Bodenheimer
Cure, Cane & Table
New Orleans, Louisiana
A bottle of Underberg bitters does wonders. Or a good dose of Angostura bitters—an ounce—with some soda and a dash of lemon. Plus, a Company Burger.
The Thunder and Lightning cocktail from the Savoy Cocktail Book will usually set you straight, too.
Thunder and Lightning
Ingredients
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. powdered sugar
2 oz. brandy
Cayenne pepper, for garnish
Preparation
Combine egg yolk, sugar, and brandy. Shake well, strain into a glass, and top with a dash of cayenne.
Zach Lynch
The Ice Plant
St. Augustine, Florida
My hangover cure is super simple: Fernet-Branca. Just a shot of that by itself, or mixed in coffee, seems to do the trick.
Jeff “Beachbum” Berry
Latitude 29
New Orleans, Louisiana
If you can’t get out of bed, don’t. Remain inert until you pass out again. If you can manage the impossible journey from supine to upright, stumble to the nearest diner and eat a big breakfast with lots of coffee. My preferred remedy is the oysters Rockefeller omelet at The Old Coffeepot in the French Quarter.
Greg Best
Ticonderoga Club
Atlanta, Georgia
When at first I open my swollen eyes on the following morning, I drink a large cup of water with a side of two Motrin IB pellets. Then it’s back on the pillow for 20-30 minutes until the Motrin lends the strength to stand, followed by the ingestion of 2-3 scrambled eggs dusted in cracked pepper and veiled in melted American cheese with a pamplemousse La Croix.
Paul Calvert
Ticonderoga Club
Atlanta, Georgia
Honestly, the only cure is time. I also lean heavily on the following: water, a salty, fatty breakfast, running, sex. I never drink booze the day after; there’s something inescapably depressing about a cul-de-sac.
Kathleen Purvis
The Charlotte Observer
Charlotte, North Carolina
For every sip of wine, take a sip of water. If you’re on the town, make sure that your server fills your water glass as often as your wine glass.
Miles Macquarrie
Kimball House
Decatur, Georgia
I’ll usually drink a Coca-Cola classic instead of coffee if I’m really hungover. Then I will go and get two hot dogs or a cheesesteak at this little hot dog joint near Kimball House called Skip’s Chicago Dogs.
Doug Atwell
Blue Pit BBQ & Whiskey
Baltimore, Maryland
Shakes on a Plane
Ingredients
1 ounce Angostura bitters
3/4 ounce John D. Taylor’s velvet falernum
Preparation
Place room temperature ingredients into a shot or rocks glass.
The bitters, a classic hangover cure, are perfect for soothing an agitated system, and the sweetness of the falernum helps the medicine go down.
Rush Jagoe
John Currence
City Grocery
Oxford, Mississippi
My hangover cure: Start drinking again. If you’ve got a for-real hangover, there’s no better way to cure it than just prolonging the agony. Personally, I like either a Bloody Mary or, if it’s an extreme case, a shot of tequila and some sangrita.
Kevin Barrett
Dram & Draught
Raleigh, North Carolina
Eat a nice helping of eastern Carolina barbecue before or while drinking. A friend of mine swears that if you eat cracklings the night of a big drink, you will never get a hangover. If that doesn’t work, I recommend getting yourself to a diner in the morning(ish) to eat some eggs, grits, and your favorite breakfast meat.
Jed Portman
Former editor, Garden & Gun
I try to cure my hangovers the night before, with the old bottle-of-water-by-the-side-of-the-bed trick. Failing that, I go for a cure-all drink that my cousin came up with years ago, when improvising mimosas for a date: beer and orange juice. You can use good beer, but I like watery PBR and store-brand, no-pulp OJ. The combination is invigorating, hydrating, and just a little bit boozy.
Jessica Mischner
Former editor, Garden & Gun
My go-to is a big bowl of cheese grits—absolutely no butter, just salt and lots of good shredded cheddar—washed down with a red beer (Tecate or something light and Mexican, with a tomato juice floater and a couple of lime wedges). It’s the perfect mix of starch, sodium, vitamin C, and equilibrium-restoring alcohol.
Marshall McKinney
Creative Director, Garden & Gun
Two Goody’s or BC headache powders shaken up in a quart of Gatorade (classic Lemon-Lime preferably) or coconut water. I also recommend waking up before your hangover does. In other words get out of the bed and start convincing yourself you have something important to do—you know, like foraging for leftover pizza or, better yet, a big-ass hamburger smothered in cheese.
