Dead Bastard
The Dead Bastard is the last and most potent in a fraternal triplet of drinks, along with the Suffering Bastard (the baby) and the Dying Bastard (the middle child).
They are the brainchildren of Joe Scialom, a legendary bartender at Cairo’s Shepheard Hotel during WWII, who created the trilogy in response to liquor shortages. The small measures of many spirits suggest that he was trying to make a few bottles go a long way. Bringing in the strong flavors of ginger beer and Angostura bitters was a masterstroke – they help to blend and unite the flavors of each spirit.
Leave your expensive bottles on the shelf for this one. The Dead Bastard has no patience for the nuance and subtly of, say, a fine Cognac or a rare rhum agricole.
Ingredients
- ½ part Brandy or Cognac
- ½ part Gin or Aged gin
- ½ part Bourbon or Rye whiskey or Blended whiskey
- ½ part Light rum
- ½ part Lime juice
- 2 dashes Aromatic bitters
- 2 parts Ginger beer
Instructions
Shake everything (except the ginger beer) with ice. Strain into an ice-filled tall glass. Top with ginger beer and garnish with a lime wedge, an orange slice, or a freshly-slapped sprig of mint.
Get the App
The Cocktail Party app puts this drink – and hundreds more – in your pocket, and tells you what you can make from the ingredients you have at home. It's the best $3.99 you'll ever spend on a drink.
Read more
- A Trio of Bastards by Ereich Empey at Musings on Cocktails
Brian Cole, Google Play Store 
