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This column’s going to be a bit of a departure, in that it’s not a cocktail recipe as much as it’s a prescription. But chances are, you’ll need it. Because we know you’ll overindulge on Thanksgiving, no matter how many Web articles try to advise you not to, or how many times you coach yourself through eating reasonable portions.

So: what to do Thanksgiving evening, after dinner, drinks, and dessert, when even the prospect of shifting your newly augmented weight slightly on the couch is painful?

• In this situation, nothing beats Fernet Branca, an Italian herbal liqueur designed to aid digestion after a big meal. Fernet is strong, bitter, and bracing, but it works. Drink it neat or on the rocks, with a ginger ale back. If you’re feeling especially bold, you can shoot it, but I doubt in the state you’ll be in, you’ll be in the mood for such theatrics.
• Another winner is grappa, an Italian digestif made by distilling the left-over spent grape husks after winemaking. Again, grappa is bracing, though in a different way — it has strong mineral flavors, but it’s also a less complex and balanced liqueur, and it’s usually sold fairly young, so it will have the same bite as an unaged whiskey, a poorly distilled/filtered vodka, or a fresh batch of moonshine. But it will make you feel better. Sip it, or mix it into espresso for a “cafe corretto”. (No, I don’t have an espresso maker, either. I just mix it into strong coffee.)
• If you’re a regular reader or a cocktail enthusiast, you probably have an underused bottle of bitters sitting in your liquor cabinet. Shake a dozen (or more) drops into a glass of ginger ale, and nurse that.
• Speaking of strong coffee, the more the better. I usually consider decaffeinated coffee to be sacrilege, but this might be one situation in which decaf may be allowable.
• Even more important — drink plenty of water. Your body needs it to digest, but any wine you drank with dinner, along with any appetizer cocktails or football-viewing beers you consumed before the meal, have stripped a lot of that water out of your system.