Last Word Cocktail Recipe

Before you start

The Last Word is one of the best-known equal-parts drinks: gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur and fresh lime, a quarter of each. It sounds as if four strong flavors would fight, but they lock together into something herbal, sweet, tart and pine-sharp at once. The drink was largely forgotten for decades before bartenders revived it, and its template has since inspired many variations.

Equal parts only works if each measure is exact. Green Chartreuse is high proof and intensely herbal, maraschino is sweet and funky, and lime is the only thing holding them in balance, so the juice must be fresh and accurately measured. Shake hard, because the drink needs dilution to soften the Chartreuse's heat. Do not try to stretch it by adding more gin; the balance shifts quickly.

Ingredients

• 22 ml (¾ oz) London dry gin
• 22 ml (¾ oz) green Chartreuse — about 55% ABV
• 22 ml (¾ oz) maraschino liqueur
• 22 ml (¾ oz) fresh lime juice — strained
• 1 cup (about 150 g) ice cubes — for shaking
• 1 brandied cherry — optional garnish

Method

1. Chill the coupe in the freezer or with ice water.
2. Measure the gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino and lime into the shaker. Use the same jigger line for each, and fill it to the brim each time.
3. Fill the shaker with ice and shake hard for 12 seconds. The extra few seconds compared with a lighter sour help tame the high-proof Chartreuse.
4. Double-strain into the chilled coupe. The drink should be a pale, cloudy green.
5. Add a cherry if you like, or serve it bare. Drink it while it is very cold, since the herbal heat becomes more noticeable as it warms.

Tips for success

• Because this uses expensive bottles, measure carefully. A small overpour of Chartreuse or maraschino throws off the whole drink.
• If you find it too sweet, change only the lime, by 5 ml at a time, rather than adjusting all four parts.
• The template invites experiments: swap the base spirit or the citrus, but keep the herbal liqueur and maraschino at the same proportion.

Substitutions

Green Chartreuse

Yellow Chartreuse makes a softer, honeyed, lower-proof drink that is noticeably sweeter. Other herbal liqueurs work in principle but change the character a lot.

Gin

Mezcal gives a smoky version; rye whiskey gives a spicier, richer one. Both keep the equal-parts structure.

Lime juice

Lemon makes a rounder drink with less bite. Lime is traditional because its sharper acidity cuts through the sweetness.

Variations

Rye Last Word

Swap the gin for rye whiskey and garnish with a lime twist.

Mezcal Last Word

Use mezcal as the base for a smoky, earthy drink that still follows the equal-parts rule.

Troubleshooting

It tastes hot and medicinal

Under-dilution. Shake longer with plenty of fresh ice, and check that the lime measure is full.

It is cloying

Your maraschino may be sweeter than usual or the lime juice is old. Use same-day juice and try 18 ml of maraschino instead of 22 ml.

It tastes only of Chartreuse

The gin may be too soft. Use a juniper-forward London dry gin that can stand up to the herbal liqueur.

Storage

Serve immediately. Chartreuse, maraschino and gin are shelf-stable; store them capped at room temperature. Lime juice is best within a few hours of squeezing.

Safety notes

This small drink is stronger than it looks: about 1.6 U.S. standard drinks (one standard drink is roughly 14 g of alcohol), largely from the 55% green Chartreuse. Adults of legal drinking age only. Do not drink and drive.