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Doug James

Doug James

United States

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Près du Quai
14 Comments
Doug James

This cocktail sounded incredible so, not being a rum drinker, I went and bought a bottle of Meyer’s Dark Rum to make this one to spec. Perhaps it was that dark rum ‘funk’ I hear mentioned so often, but there was something a bit off putting for my palate with this cocktail. I’m not sure but it seemed a bit thin and watery on the palate and then finished with an odd aftertaste that I found unpleasant. Perhaps I over stirred it thereby diluting it too much? I stirred this one as I do all stirred ‘spirit forward’ cocktails. I may give it another try with a much shorter stir time.

Devil's Soul
36 Comments
Doug James

Another great cocktail from Ted Kilgore. I’m a big fan of Ted’s Purgatory cocktail and this one is also a real banger. On the second round I modified it slightly with expressed lemon rind garnish rather than the orange and also added one dash of cherry bitters. Lovely concoction this!

Midnight Bouquet
10 Comments
Doug James

Wonderful cocktail. Grapefruit forward on the nose with a wonderfully balanced and ever so slightly floral with a very feint smokey follow through. I would likely increase the mezcal just a bit for my own tastes. Even so when made exactly as instructed this is a lovely cocktail indeed.

M & M
27 Comments
Doug James

Built this one as listed with Montelobos Espadin & Montenegro, garnished with an expressed orange peel. I added a couple of drops of saline 4:1 and 2 dashes of Angostura bitters. My goodness what a surprisingly good cocktail that I will be enjoying again and again. Just lovely.

Marianito
8 Comments
Doug James

Such a tasty and refreshing low ABV cocktail. I made this exactly as written using Castelvetrano olives as the garnish and was very pleasantly surprised how well they paired with the vermouth and Campari in this wonderful cocktail.

Purgatory
14 Comments
Doug James

Attended a convention in St Louis this weekend and while there I Googled “St Louis Cocktails” and Kilgore’s Purgatory was among the first results. I went to the hotel bar and was pleased to see both Benedictine and Green Chartreuse on the back bar, so I ordered a Purgatory. The bartender said he’d be happy to make it if I’d tell him the build. What a delightful concoction this is! Sweet, boozy, peppery, herbal… Absolutely loved it.

Lucano amaro
Not yet rated
4 Comments
Robert Aguirre

Any substitutions suggestions for Lucano?

Doug James

From what I’m able to ascertain on a search, Amaro Averna is the ‘closest’ substitute for Lucano with the caveat that it does add more of a cola note. Others mentioned were Nonino and Montenegro but Averna was stated as the closest.

Doug James

Built the Eclipse this evening and it is very tasty indeed! While many have stated that they find it a bit too sweet, to my palate it’s a perfectly balanced cocktail. After the first sip I added 2 drops of saline (4:1) and one dash of Angostura bitters. The saline really punched up the orange and cherry flavors while the Angostura added a subtle spice that pairs well with the smokiness of the Mezcal. I found this to be a really enjoyable cocktail.