Last Word
Equal parts gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino and lime. Herbal, sweet-sour and much more than the sum of its parts.
- MethodShaken
- GlassCoupe
- IceNone (served up)
- Strengthabout 20.3% ABV
- BaseGin, Liqueur-led
- Tasteherbal, sour, sweet
Recipe
| 22.5 ml ¾ oz | London dry gin |
| 22.5 ml ¾ oz | Green Chartreuse |
| 22.5 ml ¾ oz | Maraschino liqueur |
| 22.5 ml ¾ oz | Fresh lime juice |
Garnish. A cocktail cherry, or no garnish at all.
Method
- Chill a coupe.
- Shake all four ingredients hard with ice for 12 to 15 seconds.
- Double strain into the coupe and garnish.
About the Last Word
The Last Word is four ingredients in equal measure. Green Chartreuse brings a big herbal, alpine flavour; maraschino adds a dry cherry-kernel sweetness; lime keeps it sharp; gin holds it together. The result is intense, pale green and surprisingly balanced.
History
Earliest record 1951: Ted Saucier, Bottoms Up (first recipe; name on a 1916 Detroit Athletic Club menu)
Documented
A drink called the Last Word appears, without a recipe, on a 1916 souvenir menu sent to members of the Detroit Athletic Club, where it cost more than the other cocktails. The first known printed recipe is in Ted Saucier's Bottoms Up (New York, 1951), which connects it to the Detroit Athletic Club and credits the vaudeville performer Frank Fogarty with introducing it some thirty years earlier. The drink was then largely forgotten until Murray Stenson served it at the Zig Zag Café in Seattle in the early 2000s, from where it spread through the American cocktail revival.
Legend and lore
Fogarty is often named as the inventor, but the drink was on the Detroit menu before he is known to have performed there. Who created it remains unknown.
Variations
- Naked and Famous. A modern equal-parts descendant with mezcal, yellow Chartreuse, a bittersweet aperitivo and lime.
- Paper Plane. Another equal-parts drink: bourbon, a bittersweet amaro, a light orange aperitivo and lemon.
- Final Ward. Rye in place of gin and lemon in place of lime.
Bartender's notes
- Shake it very cold; the liqueurs are sweet and strong, and good dilution balances them.
- Measure exactly. With equal parts, a heavy pour of any one ingredient throws the drink off.
