Suffering Bastard

By this point in summer, we all feel like a Suffering Bastard. 

To date we’ve covered cocktails from New York, New Orleans, Paris, and London, but this Cairo-based cocktail is a first. The Suffering Bastard was a clever invention by Joe Scialom at the Shepheard’s Hotel in 1942 aka smack dab in the middle of World War II. At the time, Egypt played a pretty significant geo-political role in the war, which in layman’s terms means there were a ton of troops hanging out in Cairo. 

As a local bartender, Scialom wanted to make a “cure” for the soldiers who were suffering and complaining about the poor quality and selection of liquor around town. (Read as: Super hungover). Scialon’s final concoction may cure hangovers or create them, but either way it was a smash hit with the troops. The cocktail became so popular, in fact, that troops frequently telegrammed the Shepheard’s Hotel and put in bulk orders for the front lines. Guess that makes Scialom an international hero of sorts. 

By the 1960s, the original Suffering Bastard had lost its patriotic gleam. But Trader Vic saw an opportunity with the massive Tiki boom of the time. The bar chain managed to rebrand the Suffering Bastard from a gin-bourbon-based cocktail into a rum, orgeat, and curaçao liqueur one. Since then, both versions have been more or less lost to history. We’ll let the rum bastard fade into obscurity, but we think the original is ready for a comeback. 

With gin, bourbon, lime juice, and ginger beer, the Suffering Bastard is a powerful drink to have in your rotation. Whether it cures your suffering today or creates it tomorrow is up to you.