This Shit Ain’t For Everyone: Hardcore Cocktailing at Doppelgänger Bar

New Year’s resolutions are overall a dumb waste of time, (and even more pathetic when made two months after the actual new year) but if I was forced to make two Buenos Aires related 2013 goals they would be the following: 1) Spend more time exploring San Telmo and B) Spend less hours pounding food between my chub cheeks and more time deepening my throat to delicious cocktail guzzles. So where’s the perfect spot to commence this alcohol-induced San Telmo drink fest? Bring it on, Doppel. You’re up to bat.

In the world of Buenos Aires cocktail bars, Doppelgänger Bar is kinda hot shit.  Drink aficionados, alcohol snobs and plain old borrachos – this place was made just for you. It’s like your favorite cocktail expert, who truly appreciates the art of designing, creating and drinking the perfect cocktail, opens up a bar, fills it with a cool retro ambiance, wonderful inventive and classic drinks, good food, and alcohol rules that make it clear the shittysucky people should just go home.

You see, there are some house rules at Doppelganger: no beer, no wine, no soft drinks served. Just like (I hope) you aren’t going to order a hot dog at an Indian restaurant, ordering a beer in a bar that specializes in cocktails is kinda lame.

Working on two other articles about cocktails (#1 and #2), I came to Doppel to see their modern take on classic Argentine favorites. A destination spot for the perfect cocktail, I plopped onto the marble bar to get down and dirty with the first round. Owner, bartender, cocktailer extraordinaire and a bit of a trago-nazi, Guillermo Blumenkamp, recommended the Berghof: a mix of Jäger, sweet late harvest wine, cherry licor, Branca menta, ginger and lime. Sounded loco, and I liked it.

Generally, just one whiff of Jagermeister will induce an instant gag reflex and bring me back to those unfortunate I-should-have-gone-home-3-hours-ago college nights. But I had good faith that head bartender Luis Miranda knew a thing or two about making a drink. 

And it worked. Complex, refreshing, ideal for a sweaty summer’s night.

Round two: the Ostende – Bison Grass vodka, pear Christallino aguardiente, Elderflower St. Germain licor, lemon & lime juice, topped off with Schweppes and served with apple slices. As a food writer, I should really brush up on my drink adjectives, but to quote Guille the expert, “es exquisito, delicado, es una brisa de mar en el rostro a las 6pm.” That’s fucking cocktail poetry.

Now, I know I had said I started writing more about cocktails and Buenos Aires bars as a way not to eat so much, but it’s like the damn chicken-egg Chinese riddle. Drinking –> Food. Tostones with guacamole can rarely fail as a prime dish to picar.

Food in the stomach, time to make room for more cocktails. Since I had ordered the calamari as a main course, Guille recommended to pair it with the Bambu — a sexy sake based draank that I had to mindfully pace myself to prevent downing in few quick gulps.

It’s always nice to see a bar that also serves good food. The calamari, perhaps a bit too rubbery, still had rich beso-ing garlic flavors and rested upon maybe one of the best crispy-fried potatoes I’ve had in this city. Word on the calle is that Doppel also makes, “the best fucking hamburger” in Buenos Aires. TBD.

For those who are the bar regular types who like to hop up on the bar to watch the main bartending show, this is for you. Or, if you want to learn the art of cocktails, hang around Guille and crew and he will school you with his cocktailing knowledge.

Those who appreciate the tiny details that make a stiff drink shine: honoring the conceptualization process, appreciating the alcohol, detecting the crystal glassware and even valuing the type of ice used in the drink.

Doppel is a bar for the true lovers of a good cocktail.

Doppelgänger Bar
Av. Juan de Garay 500 esq. Bolívar, San Telmo
Tel. 4300-0201
Tues – Fri: 7pm – close, Sat: 8pm – close
Happy Hour: 7pm – 9pm, Tues – Fri
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