Located behind a heavy wood door inside Tuffy's Bottle Shop you’ll find Suffering Bastard — the perfect place to live our your tiki fantasy.
I’ve never been to a tiki bar so I had no idea what to expect and honestly there’s not a whole lot of info out there. I’m someone how like to read the menu in advance and that simply wasn’t an option so when we walked in we were at the mercy of the tiki gods.
It was dark, the music was tropical with the ominous threat of volcano and the experience was 100% tiki vibes complete with a huge stone tiki god watching over the bar.
The drinks are rated from 1 to 3 tiki gods, with 3 gods hitting the suffering level. You’re only allowed 2 of the 3 tiki god drinks each visit if that gives you an idea of how potent these drinks are.
WARNING: They will sneak up on you so be prepared with a designated driver.
The cocktail menu is huge and without an option to decide in advance — I asked the bartender for help (and something beautiful) and he brought me something that was specific to Suffering Bastard, which was perfect.
My first drink was called a Dr. Shakalo which was described as Caribbean island rum blend mixed with exotic fruits and citrus, with a touch of Italian bitters and came in at 2 tiki gods and you tried the Witch Doctor with coffee, blended with 3 potent rums and tropical fruits and 3 tiki gods.
Our second round was from the happy hour menu.
Pineapple Daquiri and Nui Nui from the happy hour menu
And for desert, Shawn had the Samoan Fogcutter — a flavorful blend of almond, citrus juice and 3 different spirits… again with a fun descriptor but you really only have a general idea of what you are going to get and that’s okay because these were literally the best rum cocktails that I have ever had, anywhere and if you know me at all you know that is not a light statement. These are expertly made craft cocktails.
I know I’ve been going on about the drinks but the food shouldn’t be overlooked for a moment — it sent our taste buds on their own tiki adventure. We chose the Crab Rangoon and Jack Fruit sliders (pork option available) with yuca fries to snack on and every bite was a tasty compliment to the expertly made craft tiki cocktails. The menu is perfect for sharing and everything we had was delicious. You can check out the food menu here.
The important details.
Suffering Bastard tiki bar is a quick 45 minute drive from Daytona Beach located inside Tuffy’s Bottle Shop at 200 S. Myrtle Avenue in Sanford, Florida.
They open at 5p Wednesday through Sunday evenings and again, I can’t emphasize intimate enough, so I highly recommend reservations in order to guarantee seating.
Prices are theme park-ish but totally worth it for the full tiki experience and don’t forget — they have a happy hour that’s worth showing up early.