Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest We’ve all been there. After a night of fun and drinks that may have gotten out of hand, you wake up with a bad taste in your mouth, a pounding headache, uneasy stomach, and light and sound sensitivity. All the classic symptoms of a hangover. Sometimes it gets so bad that you curse the heavens and even make silly promises never to drink like that again. So, how do you get over a hangover? We’ve asked the people who make and serve our drinks on tips to get you back on your feet after a boozy binge. From the classic advice like sleep, eat hot soup, and drink lots of water to the more specific types of food and drinks, here are some tried and tested tricks from our local bartenders. 1) Lester Ligon 2018 Diageo’s World Class PH Champion and head bartender at Proof Manila (located at 22 Basement, Jupiter, Corner Galaxy, Makati) “I always go for the three hangover cures bartenders swear by sleep, shower, and drink a hair of the dog. Sleep longer, take a cold shower and grab a shot of hair of the dog (my definition of it is basically having a shot or two of whatever it was that you were drinking the night before). Those work for me!” “After all, a hangover is proof that you had a glorious amount of fun and booze the night before, so you gotta own it. Otherwise, the best way to avoid a hangover is to not drink excessively in the first place.” 2) Kathrin Osmillo 2019 PH World’s Most Experimental Bartender and bartender at OTO located at 5883 Enriquez, Makati “I have a low tolerance for alcohol, so I do a lot of prevention and tricks for hangover cures. In the middle of a drinking session, I drink soda water with Angostura bitters to lessen my drunkenness. To prevent a hangover, I always drink one or two glasses of water before I sleep. Another thing is I eat a lot when drinking. But if I still wake up with a hangover, I drink ice-cold Sprite or Pocari Sweat. It helps lessen the headache and stomachache.” 3) Jay Natividad 2019 Giffard West Cup Philippine Champion and bartender at The Spirits Library (located at 4963 Guerrero, Makati) “Food is my answer! Soup like bulalo in Lugawan Sa Tejeros or even an oily breakfast meal helps. Sometimes as a bartender, we already finish work in the morning. I drink a lot of water to rehydrate and to help blood circulation. But the best is to drink in moderation and know your limits.” 4) Joey Cerdinia 2017 La Maison Cointreau PH Champion and head bartender at Blind Pig (located at 227, Salcedo, Legazpi Village, Makati) “I believe that prevention is better than cure. If I know that I had too much booze, it is a must to take an Advil before going to bed, plus I drink at least three glasses of water. If I wake up with a hangover, the best and first remedy is to drink water. Cold or warm, depending on what my stomach can take,” Joey adds. “Then, the second thing to do is to eat! Sometimes all I want is soup, but most of the time, I go for two pieces of Chicken Joy or Uncle John’s fried chicken! For sure, you will be hungry after that walwalan night. My third remedy is to eat a chocolate bar, Snickers, in particular. This gives me enough energy to think if I want to get drunk again that night or just go back to bed again and start a new sober life the next morning.” 5) Kiara Opeda Bartender at Limbo (located at 5374 General Luna, Makati) “My go-to hangover remedy is lime, ginger juice or syrup, a lot of Angostura bitters, topped with soda,” she says. “What makes it work for me is that it balances the acidity in my stomach while helping it settle, as well as keeping me hydrated. That and any type of light noodle soup will cure any hangover for me. If not, a lot of water is still the next best option,” Kiara shares. 6) Loreen Hernandez 2018 La Maison Cointreau’s Philippine Champion and bartender at Solaire Resort and Casino (located at Tambo Entertainment City, 1 Aseana Ave, Parañaque) “If I have a hangover and a bad stomach from the drinks I had the night before, I have coffee and a banana, then I vomit everything which makes me feel better. Then I’ll drink lots of water the whole day to rehydrate!” 7) Auie Benisano 2019 Philippine Champion for Ophir Gin Global Cocktail Competition and Pisco Bauza Bartender Competition 2018 and head bartender at Mistral (located at the 10th floor of Raffles, Makati) Auie Benisano “I seldom drink, so I rarely get a hangover. But when I do, my wife and I have one pitstop to ease that hangover (mostly she’s the only one who gets a hangover since I would only drink a couple of sips). We usually go to this affordable congee place in Makati called Lugawan Sa Tejeros. The price is very affordable, and we usually get the lechon lugaw. It’s just a 10-minute drive from home, so it’s very accessible for us. Hot soup is considered a good hangover cure, so having hot and yummy congee plus the crunchy lechon works like magic. Bye bye hangover!” 8) Aliuss Abrazado Don Papa Chef & Shaker 2019 Champion and bartender at The Peak at Grand Hyatt Manila “Usually I drink Sprite with plenty of ice and I eat sinigang. But there are times when I wake up with a nasty hangover, and I’ll drink a bottle of beer. I don’t know why, but it makes me feel better!” 9) Aldrin ‘Poch’ Ancheta Two-Time Monkey Shoulder Ultimate Bartender Champion and bar service leader at The Backroom (located at Shangri-La at the Fort, Manila, 30th Street, corner 5th Ave, Taguig) “My go-to hangover cure will always be hot goto or lugaw and lots of room temperature water.” 10) Richie Cruz 2016 Bacardi Legacy Philippine Champion and owner/bartender at Cobbler (located at 117 E. Santos Street, Concepcion 1, Marikina City) Richie Cruz at the 2019 Barstylez International Bartender Championship 2019 (SGCF Festival Lawn) “I would only advise four things: sleep, soup, water, and a Bloody Mary. And a pleasant jog would be good after getting a lot of rest and a nice long shower.” 11) Cedric Cello 2016 La Maison Cointreau Asia Philippines Champion and head bartender at Ms. Gee (located at Don Pedro, Makati) “Alcohol is a diuretic that causes dehydration if you drink a lot. So if you’re hungover, drink a lot of water to hydrate and flush impurities. Eat food with soup like sinigang or nilaga (my favorite). And take a long nap the day after. It’s a way of self-healing.” 12) Vanessa Rabadon Bartender at Nokal (8464 Kalayaan Ave, Makati) “When I suffer from a hangover, I experience migraine and dehydration. The usual things I do are sleep, drink plenty of fluids, and eat food that is rich in potassium and carbohydrates. My essential drink is cranberry juice topped with Sprite with lots of ice, and I drink a lot of water. For food, the best cure for me is breakfast that goes with fried rice and egg. Food and drinks will help you get back to normal.” 13) John Silva Bartender at Bistronomia Group “For me, it’s an espresso Martini.” Espresso Martini 45ml vodka 50ml espresso 20ml Kahlua 10ml simple syrup Shake and double strain into a chilled martini or coupette glass and garnish with three coffee beans. “I never start a day without my trusty sidekick, coffee! With the addition of vodka and Kahlua, for sure, you won’t have to think back to whatever happened last night.” 14) Ian James Osillo 2018 Bacardi Legacy Finalist and head bartender at Cicchetti (BGC), Mandalay Whisky and Cigars (Makati), and The Belle and Dragon (Makati) “The first tip is to have something salty as a quick fix. Second, eat fast-food meals. I like having french fries and ice cream. Then third, eat soup.” 15) Lennon Aguilar Bar Supervisor at Discovery Primea “A hangover may come from dehydration because alcohol is a diuretic. For hangover remedies, I have a few on my list: EAT BREAKFAST – after an exhausting night out, a good hearty breakfast will help replenish a dehydrated system and get calories back into your body. My fave hangover breakfast is tocilog and longsilog plus freshly brewed coffee. DRINK PLENTY OF LIQUID – that means water, water, water. If water is too boring, try coconut water or chicken noodle soup! It will bring back the lost salt and potassium in your system. My favorite soup aside from beef soup is Singapore Laksa. A bowl of special goto will do as well. GO BACK TO BED – you need to restore the energy you lost and recharge naturally. Be sure to hydrate yourself between snoozes. DON’T DRINK TOO MUCH – there’s only one surefire way to avoid a hangover, don’t drink a lot.” 16) Niño Cruz Bacardi Philippines Brand Ambassador “Honestly I don’t have any remedies. I just let it pass. For me, the only cure for a hangover is time and lots and lots of water to rehydrate. And lugaw in the morning.” These seasoned bartenders might not all be heavy drinkers, but working behind the bar has given them a lot of opportunities to deal with hangovers. The next time you wake up with a killer hangover, you can take a page out of these bartenders’ book and you’ll be back on your feet in no time. Click on this link to read a few more ways to combat the dreaded hangover from our previous article. Learn some tips on how to prevent a hangover in another article on this link.