Tough Luck Club
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Tough Luck Club is shakin’ up brand new cocktails (MENU)
Matt Sterner
•Jul 8, 2022•4 min read
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On the corner of Pennington and Scott Avenue, mosey along the side of Reilly Craft Pizza and Drink’s two-story building, make a turn once you see the beer garden’s outdoor seating, and at the bottom of the stairwell, you’ll discover a very dim basement.
Down there, a land of decorative lightbulbs hanging from wires, a row of barstools, cozy benches, and most importantly, cocktails. All of this is awaiting your arrival at the Tough Luck Club. Oh, and it wouldn’t be a party without a can of Coors and a shot of whiskey, too, right?
Shot and a beer at Tough Luck Club (Photo courtesy of Tough Luck Club on Instagram)
Earlier this week, Tough Luck Club, Tucson’s popular downtown basement bar, launched a brand new cocktail menu and is hosting a “launch weekend” party on Friday, July 8 – Sunday, July 10. To help ring in the new spirits, TLC is serving up discounted drinks and handing out giveaways of the bar’s newest merch.
Those familiar with the bar know that half of the fun of going down there is flipping through the printed menu (sometimes using the glow of your phone to get a better look). The new menu features cover art from illustrator Scott Agustin and includes a total of 21 cocktails curated by beverage director Karl Goranowski and the rest of the Tough Luck Club bar staff.
Photo courtesy of Tough Luck Club on Instagram
Here’s a snippet from the menu’s first page:
> A long, hot desert road. Sun, sand, wind, cacti.
>
> Stare down into another world.
>
> Dark, cool, glasses, cans, shots.
>
> Under the streets of the Old Pueblo and the pink-orange
>
> glow of the sunset, you will find us here.
>
> In the basement bar of a dream,
>
> the TOUGH LUCK CLUB.
A variety of concoctions are being thrown into the shaker, including eight cocktails from the TLC bar team, eight classic cocktails, which are always available for only $8 each, and five cocktails from friends of the bar, which $1 per drink will go to charity.
For instance, just in the last six months, TLC raised more than $2,500 for children’s charities and is planning to give even more back to the Tucson community through “Friends and Family Cocktail” donations.
Photo courtesy of Tough Luck Club on Instagram
On to the menu, we go. Sit down, keep scrolling, and peruse the new additions, which will be available until New Year’s Eve.
Tough Luck Club’s new cocktail menu
Tough Luck Cocktails
_Flying To Their Sabbats_ – sour cherry gin, London dry gin, saffron liqueur, lime juice, honey, sparkling wine, and aromatic bitters ($14)
_Huckle Bearer_ – mezcal de oaxaca, tequila, creme de cacao, amaro medio, orange bitters, and cinnamon cola bitters ($15)
_¯\_(:/)\_/¯ (Who knows, I just work here)_– Haitian clairin, overproof rum, chile brine, lime juice, and demerara syrup ($14)
_The Ring I Never Won_ – white tea-infused vodka, watermelon liqueur, Italian aperitif, lime juice, honey, and sparkling water ($13)
_Doctors Do It Cleaner_ – American brandy, rye whiskey, orange bitters, lemon juice, Aqua de Jamaica Grenadine ($13)
_The Apostles’ Price_ – Douglas Fir gin, Spanish gin, Emilian Amaro, Americato Aromatized wine, Yuzu liqueur ($14)
_What A Minute Said To An Hour_ – pisco, banana liqueur, Milanese amaro, lime juice, strawberry syrup, and pink bitters ($14)
_Only Fools Prefer The Past_ – single malt scotch, ruby port, American red aperitif, Adriatic fernet, and aromatic bitters ($15)
Friends and Family Cocktails ($11 each)
_$1 per drink donated to organizations working to protect women’s rights and end gun violence_
_The Black Pearl Of San Pablo Bay_ – vodka, saffron liqueur, lime juice, pineapple syrup, and aromatic bitters
_I Beg Your Pardon_ – Reposado tequila, aloe liqueur, basil syrup, lemon juice, sparkling water, and red wine float
_Super Delicious Celery Palom_ a – tequila, grapefruit juice, lime juice, and celery soda
_Mount Apo Cooler_ – London dry gin, pear liqueur, lemon juice, cucumber syrup, and sparkling water
_Beware The Chupacabra_ – mezcal, schochu, lemon juice, and ginger syrup
Essential Cocktails ($8 each)
_Old Fashioned_ – bourbon whiskey, demerara sugar, and house bitters
_Moscow Mule_ – vodka, lime juice, ginger syrup, and sparkling water
_Mexican Firing Squad_ – tequila, lime juice, Agua de Jamaica Grenadine, sparkling water, and aromatic bitters
_Pineapple Daiquiri_ – white rum, lime juice, and piña syrup
_Bee’s Knees_ – London dry gin, lemon juice, and honey
_Horse Thief_ – London dry gin, dry vermouth, and absinthe
_Bizzy Izzy Highball_ – rye whiskey, dry sherry, pineapple juice, lemon juice, and sparkling water
_Black Russian_ – vodka, coffee liqueur, and cola (by request)
The bar is open from 6 p.m. – midnight on Tuesday – Thursday, 6 p.m. – 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 6 p.m. – midnight on Sunday. If you’re having trouble finding your way, or the side gate on Scott Avenue is closed, enter through Reilly’s front door.
_Tough Luck Club is located at 101 E. Pennington St (down in the basement). For more information, follow Tough Luck Club on Instagram or visit reillypizza.com._
> View this post on Instagram
>
>
> A post shared by Tough Luck Club (@tlcson)
Article written by:
Matt Sterner
More about Matt
At a very young age, Matt Sterner was gifted with the artistic ability to masterfully roll a burrito to the highest of standards, but the wrapped medley of delicious innards wasn’t his first love. Matt’s first true love was a combination of reading, writing, and creating. He grew up reading comics, the ingredients list of his shampoo and conditioner bottles, choose-your-own-adventure books, and the Scrabble dictionary — something he found useful when challenging his grandmother to a game.
He attended college at New Mexico State University and graduated with a degree in Digital Filmmaking. One of his favorite classes was screenwriting because he became responsible for the story’s birth before it came to life on-screen. After school, Matt took on numerous positions at a local television station in Tucson. From dealing out stories about heartbreak to producing “fluffier” content for a lifestyle broadcast, he learned what it takes to adapt to the many emotions the world of media can stir. Since 2017, Matt has dabbled in the culinary world of Tucson as well as San Diego, California from time to time.
If you’re in the mood for strange stories, head over to his pride and joy, wonkytimes.com. And in case you’re curious — yes, after all of this time, he still manages to roll a killer burrito.
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Restaurants in this article
Tough Luck Club
101 East Pennington Street · Downtown
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Reilly Craft Pizza and DrinkMembers get🎟️ $10 off 4x a year
101 East Pennington Street · Downtown
WebsiteInstagram
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Menu as captured Aug 30, 2026 · source ↗
We hold 238 venues in Tucson, AZ and could score 32 of them. This one is not among them, so it has no position — not a low one.
There is no score breakdown to show: nothing we read about this venue earned points in any of the four categories, so a bar chart of zeroes would look like a verdict on the kitchen rather than on what it publishes. What we did read is below.
v1.7.4 0.0/100 = sourcing 0.0/50 (named-farm 0 distinct, named-region 0 distinct, attribute 1 distinct [class=graded-spec x0.00], buzzword 0 distinct) + farm partners 0.0/20 (none scored) + registry 0.0/12 (none listed) + press 0.0/18 (capped at 35% of the 0.0-point evidence base).
Buzzwords only. This venue uses sourcing language ("farm-fresh", "locally sourced") but names no farms, regions, or verifiable attributes.
protein
Prime
Attribute“26: @Sonoranrestaurantweek is almost here! September 4–13!🌵 This year, Flying V at @loewsventana is featuring a special K4 Ranch Prime Beef Tasting for”
on the menu · source ↗
Coverage
- Tucson Foodie (Downtown Tucson Restaurant Guide) restaurant guide entry: Tough Luck Club ↗
Tucson Foodie (Downtown Tucson Restaurant Guide)
Press