Sometimes my stomach just doesn’t feel right, and my go-to cocktails seem like they may be a bit rough on the tender digestive organ.  Of course you shouldn’t drink at all if really sick or having a stomach problem, but when the issue is more mundane, like an adventurous lunch or lurchy cab ride, I find there are cocktails that can help.

A Tessin restorative

My crime today was introducing my coworker J$ to the El Rey del Sabor food cart.  The beef pastelillo (Puerto Rican empanada) I ate while waiting for my burrito was probably a bit much…

Stomach-soothing cocktails must be individually created based on the nature of the underlying upset, but there are some ground rules I mix by:

No clear liquors – too much alcohol with a cutting effect.  I imagine it pitting my upset stomach lining.

Include ginger – widely known as a homeopathic stomach ailment remedy, I use it in drinks for flavor anyway!

Use bitters – like snake oil, many were created as healing tonics.  I doubt they scientifically serve a healing purpose, but the bite on the tongue makes me feel like I am suffering just enough to earn my health.

Use herbal liqueurs – herbs must be good for the stomach.  More importantly, we need a little sugar in this drink and need to keep that medicinal feel if we expect a decent placebo effect.

Keep it on the rocks – these drinks just don’t work up.

My Arsenal of Soothing Ingredients

From Left to Right (back row): anisette, ginger liqueur, Angostura bitters, Dubonnet, Peychaud’s bitters, Pimm’s, orange bitters, brandy, sweet vermouth, Stone’s Original Ginger.  Front row: frozen blueberries, frozen ginger, frozen cranberries.

For tonight’s stomach-soother I used:

Ingredients

1 brandy

1/3 Stone’s Original ginger

1/4 Pimm’s

4 dashes orange bitters

ginger shavings to taste (keep ginger in the freezer and grate into drinks)

Combine over large ice cubes in a tall glass.  Top off with seltzer.  Using your own siphon is great because it will blast the drink enough to mix without stirring.  If you don’t have a siphon, stir.

Cheers (and feel better)!