Leonard Kratz
This week's Sunday column offers tips from area bar patrons and Nevada Appeal staffers on how to cure a New Year's Eve hangover. Most of the patrons of Timbers Saloon and Tommy's Bar in Carson City, two watering holes picked at random, say either don't drink too much, or have another. A few Virginia City residents and some Nevada Appeal staffers gave their opinions.
At Timbers Saloon:
• Dee Martschinske said she didn't have hangovers. "I'm too old," she said as she drank white wine and played the slots at Timbers Bar in Carson City.
• "Bloody Marys, sex and marijuana," answered another patron.
• Several patrons gave the nod to bartender Jack Peretti's Bloody Marys, but Peretti said he went elsewhere. "I go to the Mark Twain Saloon (in Virginia City) to cure my hangovers."
• Connie Rowe said the way to avoid a hangover is to drink Scotch and water. "I never have a hangover, because I don't drink sweet drinks. Drink something that tastes bad," she said.
• Dennis Sharpe said have three drinks and go home. Several other patrons also advised drinking responsibly.
• Lynnette Watson said have another drink. "Get the bee that stang ya," she said. "Have a shot and a beer and stay away from that sweet stuff."
At Tommy's Bar:
• Bartender Lynn Horning said Alka Seltzer Plus was the best remedy.
• Bruce Soukup said his favorite cure was "a beautiful lady giving me a back massage." Or just suffer. "Most people understand that they deal with the cards they dealt themselves," he said.
• "The best thing is to get up and have a beer," said Leonard Kratz, who said he didn't plan to go out New Year's Eve. "I quit running in circles a long time ago."
In Virginia City:
• Jerry Liggett, a bartender at the Mark Twain Saloon, recommended Fernet, an 84-proof Italian beverage, which, according to Wikipedia, is made of 27 herbs and spices, including myrrh, rhubarb, chamomile, cardamom, aloe, and saffron, with a base of grape alcohol.
• Cathylee James, director of the Comstock Wild Horse and Mining Museum said it's all about prevention. "I heard if you eat things like sausage and real fatty foods when you're drinking or right before, it lessens the alcohol that is absorbed. It helps you fight the hangover."
She had another suggestion. "Don't drink so much. That's the best recipe I could possibly give you."
Appeal staffers:
• F.T. Norton said to take aspirin with a lot of orange juice or water before bed after drinking. "Then if I wake up with a hangover, I head straight to the Kahlua and milk."
• Karen Woodmansee said she doesn't get hangovers in a traditional sense. "I don't get headaches or nausea, I just still feel drunk when I wake up," she said. "Then all I do is go back to bed as soon as I can."
• Editor Barry Ginter advised avoiding dehydration. Drink lots of water before, during and after your night out.
• Jarid Shipley recommends a Burger King spicy chicken sandwich. "The hot kills the head cold and the grease flushes everything out and makes you feel like a king again."