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, and with Mighty Gin if you’re wanting a little more oomph)
- 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!
