Suffering bastard

Lore & Background

According to Jeff Berry and others, a suffering bastard cocktail was created at the Shepheard's Hotel in Cairo. Bartender Joe Scialom was looking to make a hangover drink for allied troops and according to the story made one as a 'cure' for the suffering soldiers who complained about the poor quality of liquor in the area. Both the drink and the hotel played a role in WWII. When the war was going well for the Axis, German General Rommel allegedly said 'I'll be drinking champagne in the master suite at Shepheard's soon.' The allies did well, however, and the drink was supposedly so popular with the troops that a telegram was sent asking for several gallons to be made and brought to the front lines.

Reader's Guide

The suffering bastard illustrates how a single cocktail name can encompass divergent traditions. The World War II version, attributed to Joe Scialom, was a brandy-and-gin buck with Angostura bitters, created as a hangover remedy for allied troops in Cairo. Its popularity led to variations such as the Dying Bastard (with bourbon) and the Dead Bastard (with bourbon and rum). The Tiki version, associated with Trader Vic, primarily uses rum, lime juice, and ingredients like Curaçao, orgeat syrup, and rock candy syrup, and is notably garnished with a cucumber peel. The drink is often served in a distinctive 'suffering bastard Tiki mug' shaped like a squat fellow holding his head in pain. The two recipes share little beyond the name, and their histories remain debated, with the Trader Vic version not appearing in his 1947 Bartender's Guide but later in his 1968 cookbook. This duality makes the suffering bastard a case study in how cocktails evolve and acquire multiple identities.

Did You Know?

• The suffering bastard was created at the Shepheard's Hotel in Cairo by bartender Joe Scialom as a hangover cure for allied troops.
• German General Rommel allegedly said he would soon be drinking champagne at Shepheard's, but the allies prevailed and the drink became popular with troops.
• A telegram was reportedly sent asking for several gallons of the drink to be brought to the front lines.
• The Tiki version of the suffering bastard is sometimes made with Trader Vic's commercial Mai-Tai mix and is garnished with a cucumber peel.

Origins in Wartime Cairo

The Suffering Bastard cocktail traces its earliest known creation to Shepheard's Hotel in Cairo during World War II. Bartender Joe Scialom reportedly devised the drink as a remedy for Allied soldiers who were complaining about the substandard liquor available in the region. The hotel itself became a symbol of the conflict's stakes—German General Rommel allegedly boasted that he would soon be drinking champagne in the hotel's master suite, a prediction that never materialized as the Allies held firm. The cocktail's popularity among troops was reportedly so immense that a telegram was dispatched requesting several gallons be prepared and transported to the front lines. Scialom's original handwritten recipe, later shared by his daughter with cocktail historian Jeff Berry, called for brandy and gin, with Angostura bitters rounding out the mix. Bourbon frequently substituted for brandy wherever it could be sourced, and the drink briefly went by the more polite name "Suffering Bar Steward" for patrons who took issue with the original moniker.

A Family of Variations

One of the most fascinating aspects of the Suffering Bastard is how it spawned an entire nomenclature of related drinks. According to Jeff Berry, Scialom himself created different versions under different names depending on the ingredients used. Adding bourbon to the base recipe transformed it into a "Dying Bastard," while incorporating both bourbon and rum elevated it to a "Dead Bastard." This playful escalation of suffering through the naming convention gives the cocktail a unique place in bar lore. The recipe itself has never been fixed in stone; it varies significantly from establishment to establishment. The VenTiki Lounge, for instance, still uses brandy in their classic tiki menu version, yet their formulation differs markedly from what Trader Vic developed. Multiple recipe versions exist even among the earliest documented sources, with two of the oldest calling for entirely different base spirits. This fluidity has led to ongoing debate among cocktail historians about which version is authentic, and the origins have been argued, revised, and reinterpreted over the decades.

Trader Vic's Rum-Based Interpretation

Although the Suffering Bastard is now deeply intertwined with Tiki culture and the Trader Vic brand, the drink did not appear in Bergeron's landmark 1947 Bartender's Guide. It surfaced in later editions and was formally documented in the 1968 Trader Vic's Pacific Island Cookbook, where the recipe called for both light and dark rums alongside lime juice, with dashes of Curaçao, orgeat syrup, and rock candy syrup. Other Vic-era recipes built the cocktail on his commercial Mai-Tai mix as a foundation, combining it with multiple rums and lime. A handwritten note allegedly penned by a waiter at Trader Vic's around 1970 identified the "key" ingredient as rum sourced from Barbados, adding an element of proprietary mystery. The drink is also known for its unusual garnish—a cucumber peel—setting it apart from the tropical fruit presentations typical of Tiki bars. A modern Trader Vic's cocktail menu describes it as a forthright blend of rums, lime, and liquors with a distinctive affinity for cucumber, preserving the drink's identity across generations.

The Iconic Tiki Mug

When patrons order a Suffering Bastard at a Tiki bar, the presentation is as memorable as the drink itself. The cocktail is traditionally served in a uniquely shaped vessel known as the "Suffering Bastard Tiki mug," which depicts a squat, hungover-looking figure clutching his hands over his head in apparent agony. This visual storytelling perfectly captures the spirit of a drink born as a hangover cure. Interestingly, according to Trader Vic's own records, the mug originally carried a different name: "Mai-Tai Joe." This earlier designation likely reflected the fact that Trader Vic is widely credited with inventing the Mai-Tai, and his commercial Mai-Tai mix is sometimes used as a base ingredient in Suffering Bastard preparations. The mug has become a collectible and a recognizable symbol of Tiki bar culture, transforming what began as a practical wartime remedy into a theatrical experience where the vessel itself tells the story of suffering and relief.