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.
