Our Hangover Cures feature is one of the most popular and useful things BYT has ever produced. But a lot has changed in the 5 years since its original posting. We now live in a coconut water world. It’s time to recognize change. Our 2016 Hangover Guide is looking forward. You can’t live in the past. Hangovers help teach that lesson.
Our experts are a mixture of mixologists, chefs, beverage directors, musicians and food and drink writers. They’re people that imbibe for a living. They know what they’re doing. And sometimes they forget to do something the right way and wake up with a massive hangover.
Evan Cablayan, Stanton & Greene Beverage Director
Preferred Poison: Mezcal with Campari and grapefruit beer or a Michelada L.A style!
Hangover Cure: Carrot juice mixed with coconut water / being from LA we rock Mexican breakfast burritos with tons of avocado, sausage, eggs, hash browns, and pico de gallo! Can’t beat it!
JP Fetherston, Head Bartender at the Columbia Room
Preferred Poison: If I’m picking just one, I would have to go with Bruichladdich Single Malt Scotch Whisky straight from the distillery. I lived in Scotland for a long time during and explored, researched and learned about many distilleries, the people that work there, and the specific areas that they are located in. During the summer of 2012, I worked at the Bruichladdich Distillery for six weeks which also contributes to why this exact whiskey is my poison.
Hangover Cure: Depending on how hard I went the night before….if it wasn’t too bad, and I have a free day the next day, my go-to cure is the classic “hair of the dog.” Usually, I’ll have one beer with brunch or a late breakfast to even things out. If I’m feeling extra sensitive, my go-to is a big salty broth — like pho, or duck noodle soup from Chinatown Express, or birria – which is an amazing Mexican dish that consists of spicy beef/lamb broth with chiles, herbs & vinegar. The meat is cooked until it falls off the bone. P.S. if anyone knows where I can find a great birria in Washington, D.C., please let me know!
Nahem Simon, Beer Director at Jack Rose Dining Saloon
Preferred Poison: All of the beers. But just the tasty ones.
Hangover Cure: I always advocate wheat beers as a hangover remedy, because they’re actually considered breakfast in some countries. If judged for drinking in the morning, explain that you aren’t starting to drink again, but simply re-ending the harsh sobriety that caused the headache of normalcy. Also, a breakfast sandwich makes a hefty ally in the recovery battle (preferably on a bountiful butter croissant with its doughy pain-absorbability), or a lunch breakfast sandwich, possibly with the word “burger” in the name.
Violette Davis, Co-owner of Looking Glass Lounge
Preferred Poison: Jameson
Hangover Cure: A Malibu and Coke. You get just a little alcohol, sugar and caffeine and it will taste nothing like what caused my hangover. And Alka Seltzer. I don’t know why no one told me about the pop-pop fizz-fizz miracle worker till now!
Nilesh Singhvi, Executive Chef of The Bombay Club
Preferred Poison: Single malt on the rocks
Hangover Cure: Water before going to bed then carrot-orange juice or lime juice with honey.
Lee Carrell, Bar Manager at The Royal
Preferred Poison: All of the things. Probably a Negroni somewhere along the way.
Hangover Cure: Oatmeal and grapefruit juice. But it’s got to be real oatmeal, not that prepackaged shit. They both have a low glycemic index, which, it seems to me helps abate all the sugar rushing through my liver long enough for me to get ahead of the curve with water. Lots of water. After that, some good greasy food like bacon and fried eggs can take the edge off all that leftover stomach acid from the night before.
Guillermo Pernot, Concept Chef-Partner of Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar
Preferred Poison: Mojito
Hangover Cure: Sopa Levanta Muerto, a “Raising the Dead” Seafood soup made with shrimp, bay scallops, crab meat and mussels and a coconut milk-fortified “Chino-Cubano” broth with truffle oil is the perfect hangover cure because of the following reasons:
Well, it is a hangover cure if you take in consideration that
1 You are dehydrated and this broth soup will take care of that
2 That contains very healthy fish proteins and amino acids
3 That contains Coconut milk, highly nutritious and rich in fibre, vitamins C, E, B1, B3, B5 and B6 and minerals including iron, selenium, sodium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorous.
4 it goes well with a “grilled pineapple Mojito” and that is the hair of the dog
Anna Miller, Chef at Vinoteca and The Royal
Preferred Poison: Gin
Hangover Cure: My go-to hangover cure is more of a cure-all. I drink this with the onset of any ailment, really. It’s a hot drink comprised of chicken stock, ginger and chamomile tea. I’ll also turn to the cold pizza from the fridge I undoubtedly ordered the night before as a preemptive strike to thwart off the impending after-effects of drinking perhaps one-too-many French 75s.
Baby Bry Bry, Musician
Preferred Poison: I’m a simple man with simple tastes…and the alcohol tolerance of a sparrow. I drink gin and tonics at bars, Sauv Blanc at house shows, and Tecate with lime and Tajín (Google it) on my porch. I’m also a sucker for frozen margs and regularly convince myself that I like champagne more than I actually do.
Hangover Cure: I lie in bed moaning (I think this is a less-celebrated variation of the Lamaze technique?) until I can muster enough energy to get up, pop some Advil, and make coffee. Taking a big whiff of freshly ground beans is more important than the drink itself, because I usually crawl back in bed and pass out before the brewing is complete. I typically regain human functions after I wake up the second time, but if not, I’ll drink the coffee and resume my Lamaze moaning. A friend introduced me to a preventative measure that involves drinking pear juice alongside alcoholic bevs that I highly recommend. Not sure if it actually does anything for hangovers, but it tastes DELICIOUS.
Sean Joyce, Founder of Underground Comedy and co-producer of the 202 Comedy Festival
Preferred Poison: Beer and/or whiskey
Hangover Cure: Hangovers are going to happen, but you don’t have to be there for them. If you wake up feeling terrible, just smoke a bunch of weed (that is now legally available to you). Then go back to sleep. Keep repeating this process until either your hangover is gone or it’s the next day. You won’t feel a thing. If you don’t smoke weed, start smoking weed – if just for this reason. It’s medical at that point.
Brandon Wetherbee, BYT Managing Editor
Preferred Poison: Bourbon
Hangover Cure: Sitting in a chair and staring into the abyss with a cat on my lap. Coffee.
Megan Burns, BYT NYC Editor
The thing about hangover cures is that they aren’t real. Or, they are, but like a cure for the hiccups, they’re SUPER person-specific, and therefore it’s largely unrealistic to think that what works for me will work for you. (Especially when even my go-to feel-better methods don’t always work.) But if you really want to know, I can divulge a few of my typical strategies.
Preferred Poison: Beer
Hangover Cure
- Hair of the dog 100%. That usually means a beer, or if I’m forced to go out and interact with fellow humans, then sometimes a Bloody Mary. The 5 o’clock rule goes out the window on hangover days. It is fair game from the moment you open your bloodshot eyes.
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Iced coffee with soy milk. (This can occur before, during or after the alcoholic beverage, but it needs to happen at some juncture.)
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FOOD. For me, it tends to be Asian (Korean or Thai, especially), but occasionally can involve a cheeseburger or a full English breakfast. (The main thing is that it has to be savory; nothing sweet will be tolerated by Megan Burns on hangover days.)
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Bed + mindless binge-watching. If I don’t have to leave my bed on a hungover day, I most definitely will not. And while I’m not good at sleeping at off hours, I am REAL SKILLED at watching all of the Netflix, or even better, all of the YouTube videos. People taste-testing weird foods? Yes. Beauty tutorials? Also yes. Viral videos of deer crashing through windows and walking around in places they shouldn’t be? SO MUCH YES.
I hope I have helped, but let’s be real…when it comes to hangovers, to each his own.
Kaylee Dugan, BYT Editorial Assistant
Preferred Poison: I drink a lot of things and I drink them all the time. My desk at home is less a desk and more a bar. I have to move bottles to sit my computer down. If you put a gun to my head and made me choose, I’d want to be buried with a bottle of gin. Hendrick’s preferably.
Hangover Cure: Coconut water tastes like jizz and you shouldn’t trust anyone who tells you to drink it. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t actually cure your hangover, it just tastes so repugnant that it makes you forget you had one in the first place. The only real hangover cure is drinking a glass of water before bed and eating a cheeseburger as soon as you get up. It doesn’t have to be greasy, it doesn’t have to be fancy. It just has to be a good solid cheeseburger. Classic toppings preferred and a pint of beer if you’re a professional.
Phil Runco, BYT Beer Writer
Preferred Poison: I’ve come to accept that beer is the only alcohol that I love and fully appreciate. So, my poison is exclusively beer. This time of year, I’m looking for something dry and refreshing. That means light-bodied, “crushable” IPAs (Firestone Walker’s new Luponic Distortion; Union’s Steady Eddie; any of the myriad Ocelot IPAs), crisp lagers and sorta-lagers (Brau Pils; Atlas’ Home Rule IPL; Port City’s Derecho Common), or something tart and effervescent, whether it be Union’s Old Pro Gose or a Berliner Weisse.
Hangover Cure: For starters, stick to those light beers I just mentioned. You’ll find yourself climbing out of a much shallower grave come morning. I also try to keep a few cartons of chocolate coconut water in the fridge for when I come home. I don’t always want to drink regular H20 before I go to bed, but there’s always room at the inn for faux chocolate milk. Lastly, go for a run! Nothing feels better than sweating out that booze and not feeling like a complete waste of space. Or, at least it feels better afterwards. (I also run three marathons a year to offset my beer consumption habits, so maybe I’m biased there.)
Andrew Bucket, BYT Writer
Preferred Poison: Mezcal, rye whiskey, fruity sour beer with a shot of dry gin dropped in.
Hangover Cure: The meat of an ice cold grapefruit, a 1.5 liter smart water at room temperature, two women’s health gummy vitamins, a pot of Ahmad English breakfast tea, a three dollar street fruit watermelon baggy, one Romane heart that’s been torn into key chain sized pieces and lightly coated in lime juice and topped with half a sliced mango, ten minutes of seated deep breathing while focusing attention on a 19th century Japanese print, three celery sticks two inches in length, the finale of Mad Men season 3 Shut the Door Have A Seat, the YouTube video of Whitney Houston’s super bowl national anthem, and a round tostada topped with a seafood ceviche- no onions.
Jonny Grave, BYT Writer and Photographer
Preferred Poison: Anything but rum.
Hangover Cure: Whether I’ve woken up with a behind-the-eyes headache from IPA, or stomach-turning nausea from whisk(e)y, there’s one cure that never fails: Extra-spicy orange chicken from Grand China Carryout on 11th and Lamont. It’s like a hard-reset for your internal organs.
Logan Hollers, BYT Writer
Preferred Poison: Depends on where I’m drinking. If I’m at my go-to dive bar, cans of Tecate all night; if I’m at Copycat Co. or somewhere similar, Negronis and shots of Fernet.
Hangover Cure: I’m a huge proponent of the brothy noodle soup hangover cure, so Pho Viet in Columbia Heights is a frequent stop. Ginger ale helps, too. I’ve also found that something fresh and crunchy helps offset how putrid I feel, so my usual is a plain lettuce salad. And always, always multiple glasses of cold water, no ice.
Priya Konings, BYT Writer and Photographer
Preferred Poison: Champagne! I love sparkling wine. After that, red wine or rose.
Hangover Cure: If the hangover is medium to light, then sleeping in, water, exercise, and a boozy brunch (more champagne!) will make everything better. If its a monster hangover…sleep.advil.90210 reruns.crackers.ginger ale.prayers.
Chefs at 1789 Restaurant, Old Ebbitt Grill, Tower Oaks Lodge, Clyde’s of Tysons Corner, Clyde’s of Georgetown, and Clyde’s Restaurant Group Corporate Chef
Hangover Cure: Pho 75 in Arlington.
Pete Kalamoutsos, Partner at Echostage, Soundcheck and Glow
Preferred Poison: Don Julio 1942 tequila straight, no chill. I also love Tito’s Vodka on the rocks with lemon.
Hangover Cure: I actually stole this remedy from Tiësto, who is a good friend of mine. Before I go out, I drink coconut water. When I come home, I drink coconut water. And when I wake up from a long night out, I have vitamins and more coconut water. Coconut water cures all.
We originally ran this guide July 5, 2016.
