Apricot-Celery Whiskey Sour

When I think about mixology and the countless possibilites for combination of flavors, I find myself almost always crafting simple(r) drinks that lean towards ingredient-driven flavors rather than crazy combinations of spirits to create new ones. I believe that certain seasonal ingredients tailor to different spirits and, most importantly, I rarely use more than 3 distinct flavors. A few combinations I've used in the past:

• Concord Grape - Tequila - Averna
• Hibiscus - Rum - Winter Spices
• Lavender - Sage - Orange - Gin
• Kumquats - Rye - Sesame
• Watermelon - Tequila - Yellow Chartreuse - Black Pepper - Cilantro (ok that was a lot of ingredients)
• Fennel - Gin - Elderflower
• Pomegranate - Cinnamon - Cognac - Rosewater
• Plum - Rum - Sassafras
• Caraway - Orange - Celery - Vodka

CELERY. There is something about Celery in cocktails that I just freaking love. I keep bugging my buddy Paul @ The Whistler that we need to come up with something together. My home bar has thinned out through the past 2 years because I am no longer doing cocktail menus but I tend to pick up various liqueurs in my travels. One of them being a stellar apricot liqueur I purchased in Austria in 09 which I've been eyeballing recently. When my friend Sara said she was coming down from Milwaukee this past weekend I knew I had to bust out something for our routine "Sunday Cocktails." Apricot kinda works with gin, it's really good with tequila, but smokes with whiskey. After picking up some KV, one of my fav small batch bourbons, I made a celery simple syrup and got to work:

2 oz Kentucky Vintage Bourbon

1 oz Lemon Juice

½ oz Apricot Liqueur

½ oz Celery Syrup

½ an egg white

2 dash Angostura Bitters

2 dash Orange Bitters

muddled apricot & celery

(add all ingredients & dry shake to incorporate egg white before adding ice)