Last Word recipe
¾ oz. gin
¾ oz. fresh squeeze lime juice
¾ oz. Maraschino
¾ oz. Green Chartreuse
Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Gin recommendations
The re-discovery of the Last Word Cocktail coincided with the beginnings of the gin renaissance. The complex mix of herbal and sweet pairs well with almost any gin. Among my favorites are spice-leaning, contemporary gins like Tinkerman’s Sweet Spice or Cathouse Pink Pepper Gin.
If you’re going to pair with a classic style gin, I think the deep earthy flavor of Tanqueray stands out well against this bold cast of ingredients.
History of the Last Word
Despite the Last Word boasting a “pre-prohibition” pedigree, it didn’t appear in print until Ted Saucier’s 1951 edition of Bottom‘s Up.
The recipe is said to have dated back to the 1920’s at the Detroit Athletic Club.
Murray Stenson was widely credited with reviving the lost cocktail when he introduced it to the menu of the Zig Zag Cafe in Seattle in 2009.