This is my entry for November’s Competition Thread.

I wanted to create something more complex than what I have tried till date.

Presenting - Call the Doctor.

Ingredients:

• 30 ml Dark Rum (Bacardi Black)

• 30 ml Apple Brandy (Calvados, found one for the first time. Had it for the first time)

• 15 ml Cognac (Remy Martin)

• 20 ml Fresh Lime Juice

• 10 ml Maple Syrup

• 3 dashes Orange Bitters

• 1 dash Angostura Bitters

• No garnish required, but you can express any Citrus Oils. I used a lemon peel. Orange can work as well.

Recipe

1. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker

2. Fill the shaker with ice and shake vigorously until well-chilled.

3. Double strain into a chilled coupe glass. I made the drink to be served straight up but can be served on the rocks. If the latter, a rocks glass with one 2x2 ice cube works well.

4. Rub an orange or lemon peel over the glass rim.

Smell: The first impression is the zesty brightness of lime, followed by hints of the sweeter aroma of dark rum.

Taste: Initially, it is bright and tangy from the lime which cuts through the sweetness of apple brandy and rum. The lasting notes are of the sweet maple mixed with the light spiced flavours of Angostura. The taste is very layered as the refreshing lime intermingles well with the weighty rum and brandy.

Mouthfeel: Silky and luxurious is how I will describe this. This is a very easy drink to drink. The maple makes it gently viscous. I finished the drink very quickly. Which is unfortunate because this is quite spirit forward, with approx. 25% abv. 2 iterations of this and I feel good.

Hence the name – Call the Doctor. Like the drink, the name has layers. With 3 base spirits and high ABV, one will get drunk and call the doctor. I am a doctor. Unfortunately, an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Anyway, the drink has brandy which was historically given as a medicine, so one might not need a doctor.

Cheers.