Should you awaken on New Year’s Day with a splitting headache, a strong drink is a surefire cure. We canvassed the South for some of the best hair-of-the-dog pours.
Classic Daiquiri at the Collins, Birmingham
You’re in good hands at this boundary-pushing bar, where there’s never a cocktail menu because the drinks are customized to order. For a post-binge tonic, principal bartender Feizal Valli suggests an old-fashioned daiquiri with clean Jamaican rum, fresh lime juice, and a little sugar. The simple recipe will soothe your stomach, plus lime juice is good for you, right? thecollinsbar.com
Garden Roo at Armada Bar, Knoxville, Tennessee
Owner and head bartender Zachary Calfee says food is the best medicine for a hangover, so why not slurp a salty, veggie-packed elixir at this handcrafted cocktail bar? Behold the Garden Roo. It’s essentially a vodka (aka “kangaroo”) martini with green onion–infused vodka, garlic-infused vermouth, pepper-infused house-made bitters, and a pickled-okra garnish. Think of it as a salad in a martini glass. armadabar.com
Ray’s Mixture at the Apothecary at Brent’s Drugs, Jackson, Mississippi
At this speakeasy-style bar in the back of a 1946 pharmacy, your prescription is a riff on Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray soda. It’s a sweetly acidic perk-me-up of Champagne, Pimm’s, lemon, sugar, and housemade hot-sauce shrub (hot sauce mixed with sugar). According to proprietor Jonathan Shull: “It has a bit of heat to it that will surely get your day started.” apothecaryjackson.com
Louis Lindic
PLUS: Make it Yourself
1/2 ounce Pimm’s No.1
2 dashes celery bitters
1/2 ounce simple syrup
1/2 ounce hot-sauce shrub*
1/4 ounce lemon juice
2 ounces Champagne
Combine Pimm’s, celery bitters, simple syrup, hot-sauce shrub, and lemon juice in shaker. Shake ingredients and strain into a chilled coupe and top with champagne. Garnish with lemon wedge.
*To make hot-sauce shrub: Combine equal parts sugar and hot sauce in saucepan. Bring to boil, take off heat, stir until sugar is dissolved, and let cool. Refrigerate and keep in an airtight container.
