In Gin No. 11 Recipes, Gin No. 6 Recipes

The Last Word has been a favorite cocktail of ours for awhile; it’s herbaceous, complex and extremely sippable, and it uses one of our favorite base spirits (gin) and one of our favorite modifiers (Chartreuse).  We had a fun conversation about this drink on Twitter recently, and decided to write about it as well.

The Last Word

  • ¾ oz Distiller’s Gin No. 6 (we also like it with No. 11)
  • ¾ oz Green Chartreuse (we also like it with Chartreuse VEP if you are feeling very decadent; we used some because we were out of the regular and happened to have it on hand)
  • ¾ oz Maraschino Liqueur
  • ¾ oz Fresh Lime Juice

Shake ingredients with ice; strain into chilled cocktail glass.  No garnish, or garnish with a cocktail cherry.

Most of the great classic cocktails we love were developed before Prohibition; during it, people were mostly trying to cover up bad alcohol and weren’t inventing great drinks.  This drink is an exception to that – it was created in the 1920’s in Detroit, and is a great example of what a great cocktail can be – a series of ingredients coming together and balancing each other out, each bringing something to the party and creating a new flavor.

PS, did you know that the color chartreuse was named for the liqueur, not the other way around?  The liqueur has been around for a very long time, it is made by monks, and is known for it’s distinct (and beautiful) green color.

Cheers!