Last Word
Four equal parts of gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino and lime meet in a sharp, herbal cocktail with a tart finish.
Ingredients
- London Dry gin22.5 ml
- Green Chartreuse22.5 ml
- Maraschino liqueur22.5 ml
- Lime juice, freshly squeezed22.5 ml
- Cocktail cherry, to garnish (optional)1 piece
Method
- Chill a coupe or Nick & Nora glass in the freezer or with iced water.
- Pour the gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur and fresh lime juice into a shaker.
- Fill the shaker with plenty of ice.
- Shake hard for 15–20 seconds, until the shaker is ice-cold to the touch.
- Double-strain through a Hawthorne strainer and a fine-mesh strainer into the cold glass.
- Garnish with a cocktail cherry and serve at once.
About this drink
The Last Word was born at the Detroit Athletic Club in the early twentieth century but vanished for decades before it was rediscovered during the cocktail revival of the 2000s. Its equal-parts formula is a small exercise in balance: the gin's botanicals, the Chartreuse's herbal bitterness, the maraschino's cherry-almond sweetness and the lime's acidity must all take up the same space without drowning each other out. Precisely because no ingredient dominates, it has become a benchmark for how precisely a cocktail can be composed.
Questions and answers
Why is the Last Word so popular with bartenders?
Four ingredients in exactly equal parts create a surprisingly complex balance of gin, herbs, cherry-almond and acidity. It is hard to tire of and easy to remember.
Can you replace the green Chartreuse in a Last Word?
Not really without changing the drink markedly. Its 130 herbs and spices give a unique, powerful bitterness that no other product quite matches. Treat the Last Word as a reason to invest in the bottle.
Which gin should you use for a Last Word?
A classic London Dry with clear juniper holds its balance best against the strength of the Chartreuse. A gin that is too soft or floral disappears among the other powerful flavours.
