kentucky dandy

1 1/4 oz Bourbon (1 1/2 oz Evan Williams Bonded)
3/4 oz St. Germain (1/2 oz St. Elder)
3/4 oz Apricot Liqueur (1/2 oz Rothman & Winter)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice (1/2 oz (*))
1 dash Absinthe (8 drop St. George)

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with a floated mint leaf.
(*) See text of how I would raise my adapted version to 3/4 oz.Two Wednesdays ago, I was perusing the KindredCocktails database, when I came across the refreshing sounding Kentucky Dandy by New York City bartender Rafa Garcia Febles. I then realized that in all the drinks, I had never tasted apricot paired with elderflower liqueur, and here it was in a Bourbon Corpse Reviver No. 2 format. With my slightly adapted recipe described above, the Kentucky Dandy welcomed the nose with a mint, grapefruit, apricot, and floral bouquet. Next, lemon and orchard fruit notes on the sip transitioned to Bourbon, grapefruit, apricot, floral, and anise flavors on the swallow. Even with trying to dry out the recipe by making it more spirit forward, it was still a touch sweet, so perhaps upping the lemon juice to 3/4 oz in my adaptation would help for my preferred balance.