mountebank

1 1/2 oz Scotch (Famous Grouse Smoky Black)
1/2 oz Apple Brandy (Morin Calvados Selection)
1/2 oz Amaro Sfumato
1/2 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
1 dash Absinthe (6 drop St. George)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with an orange twist.

Two Saturdays ago, I was inspired by the apricot-Sfumato combination in the previous night's Smooth Operator. I swapped the Armagnac-rye duo for Scotch-apple brandy, dropped the Benedictine, and exchanged the two bitters for absinthe. Originally, I tried Peychaud's Bitters here since they generally work well with Scotch, apple brandy, and apricot, but the balance was just too dark especially with the Sfumato, so I replaced it with the brightening action of absinthe. For a name, I kept the Smooth Operator in mind and dubbed this the Mountebank which dictionaries define as "a person who deceives others, especially in order to trick them out of their money; a charlatan" and "a person who sells quack medicines from a platform." Once prepared, the Mountebank gave forth a roast, orange, apricot, and anise aroma. Next, roast and apple notes on the sip sold off Scotch, apple, bitter apricot, smoky roast, char, and anise flavors on the swallow. Overall, I wished that I had reached for a more flavorful Scotch here like Cutty Sark Prohibition or mixed in a little high impact Islay single malt for some of the blended whisky, but Andrea and a few folks who tried it on Instagram enjoyed it as written.