Get that cold wasted

When I’d get a head cold as a kid, Mom made me drink 7 Up or ginger ale. Lame. In college, I nurtured myself with yerba mate tea or elderberry-ginger infusions, which worked. Or maybe it was the pretentious Hegel I was reading at the time, which put me out. Anyway, now, in my 30s, when I get a little cold, there’s only one be-all-end-all kicker: Chartreuse. That’s right: The monks in the mountains near Voiron, France, make this green, 110-proof liqueur with all kinds of herbal infusions. Chartreuse is the new Robitussin. Serve it on ice in a brandy glass and drink three shots a day while ill; this “doctor” advises to double the dose, you know, just in case. (Full disclosure: I’m not a doctor; please see a real doctor if you’re sick, and disregard my crappy advice.) Find Chartreuse at Corti Brothers, 5810 Folsom Boulevard, (916) 736-3800.