How To Drink After Dinner, According To A Bartender

    Amari are the Italian cure for overeating.

    Michelle No
    by Michelle No

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Feeling full? Say no more, fam. We spoke with Jillian Vose, beverage director at the Dead Rabbit, as well as Channing Centeno, bartender at Momofuku Ko, to get a primer on digestifs and how to drink ourselves out of discomfort.

    The Dead Rabbit

    Start with one of these popular digestifs:

    Digestifs work because they trigger our body’s natural aversion to bitterness and the primitive response to “clear out” the stomach. They won’t work like laxatives per se, but they'll help in settling the stomach.

    While they come in many different flavors and styles, they're all mostly bitter, dry, neutral grape liquers. Here are the picks you're probably most familiar with.

    1. Amaro

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    The amaro (Italian for "bitter") is a bittersweet, syrupy Italian liquor. Among the most popular are Fernet Branca, Branca Menta, and Campari (which is often enjoyed as an aperitif liquor).

    2. Grappa

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    This clear brandy hails from Italy and has a complex flavor often described as "firewater."

    3. Sherry

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    Sherry is a fortified wine (wine, with liquor added) made from grapes near Jerez de la Frontera in southwest Spain. It's usually darker in color and dry in taste.

    4. Limoncello

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    This Italian lemon liquor is syrupy-sweet, tart, and refreshing. As with other digestifs, people usually sip on just a small amount after dinner.

    5. Cognac

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    Hailing from France, this type of Brandy has the flavor and aroma of sweet, burnt wine.

    Then, adhere to the following tips for drinking digestifs:

    Sip, don't chug.

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    Digestifs are potent in flavor, so gulping it down like you would a beer might be kind of painful. The rule of thumb is: Drink as if you were at a wine tasting, not at your neighborhood dive bar.

    Go easy on the quantity.

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    Digestifs are usually sweet, but also high in alcohol content, so it's easy to overindulge. Keep in mind how much you drink unless you want to wake up with a serious hangover.

    Spike it with espresso.

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    Like an Irish coffee, for example. It's made with hot coffee, whisky, and cream, and is the perfect combination of high alcohol content and a caffeinated kick. YUM.

    Try it with soda.

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    Bitters and soda is a tried-and-true recipe for soothing the stomach. Aperol soda, for example, is a popular sweet and refreshing tart cocktail that people enjoy as both an aperitif (before-dinner drink) and digestif. "Some would say that fizzy drinks could help break things up," adds Vose.

    Or just drink it neat.

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    Honestly, this is my favorite way to drink a digestif. Kind of like how drinking my coffee black makes me FEEL as if I'm getting extra caffeinated, drinking a digestif neat, without any ice or other ingredients, makes me FEEL like the liquor is really burning through the pound of stuffing I just ate.

    And in the world of digestive alcohol, also remember that probiotic beer is a thing.

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    In moderation, some sour beers have been shown to be good for the digestive tract. Again, MODERATION is the key word in all drinking-related matters.