Struggling Bastard Recipe

The Struggling Bastard could sound like a chore to drink, however this combination of bourbon, gin, lime juice, ginger beer, and bitters is an absolute delight. The drink’s evocative identify comes from its use as a hangover treatment for Allied troopers throughout World Conflict II. 

Based on cocktail historian Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, the Struggling Bastard was invented by Joe Scialom on the well-known Shepheard’s Lodge in Cairo, Egypt, with the categorical purpose of preserving troopers contemporary for the struggle effort.

The Struggling Bastard did its job nicely, because it rapidly grew to become an enormous hit within the area, a lot in order that the troops allegedly requested bulk orders on the entrance traces. After the top of the struggle, the drink discovered a second life among the many burgeoning tropical cocktail scene, with a variation making an look in Dealer Vic’s 1947 cocktail e-book, Bartender’s Information.

“It’s bought that excellent old-world attraction, but it surely doesn’t really feel dusty,” says Ying Chang, co-owner of Sturdy Water in Anaheim, California “It nonetheless holds up superbly right this moment. Whether or not served in a tall glass or a playful mug, it’s a drink that at all times feels prefer it was made that will help you bounce again, loosen up, and stick with it.”

Why the Struggling Bastard Works

The Struggling Bastard works for a similar causes the Darkish ‘n Stormy and Moscow Mule work — the mixture of spirits, citrus, and ginger beer is a tried and true method. It makes for a refreshing, vibrant, and barely spicy cocktail it doesn’t matter what the bottom spirits are. The addition of Angostura bitters provides a heat baking spice element that pairs fairly nicely with the intense ginger beer and lime.

Initially, this drink known as for aged brandy paired with gin, however step by step bourbon grew to become essentially the most generally used barrel-aged spirit to pair with the dry, botanical-forward gin. It’s additionally widespread to see each the gin and bourbon swapped out for rum in tropical bars.