Last Word recipe
Equal parts everything — a Prohibition-era recipe that vanished for 80 years and came back stronger.
Method: Shake ·
Glass: Coupe ·
Time: 2 min ·
Difficulty: Intermediate ·
Family: The Sidecar Family
Ingredients
- 0.75 oz Gin (London Dry)
- 0.75 oz Green Chartreuse
- 0.75 oz Maraschino Liqueur (Luxardo)
- 0.75 oz Fresh Lime Juice
How to make a Last Word
- Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice.
- Shake well for 12-15 seconds.
- Strain into a chilled coupe.
- Garnish with a cherry if you like, or serve clean.
Garnish
Brandied cherry or none.
Pro tip
This drink lives or dies on the Chartreuse. There's no substitute — it's made by monks using 130 herbs and the recipe is a literal secret. If you don't have it, make a different cocktail. Also, equal parts means equal parts. Don't mess with the ratio until you've made it correctly at least once.
History of the Last Word
Created at the Detroit Athletic Club during Prohibition (around 1920). It disappeared from cocktail culture entirely until 2004, when bartender Murray Stenson rediscovered it in a 1951 cocktail book and put it on the menu at Zig Zag Cafe in Seattle. It's now one of the most ordered craft cocktails in the world.
Flavour profile
Herbal, Complex, Tart, Botanical
Variations
- Final Ward — Rye whiskey, lemon, Maraschino, Green Chartreuse
- Paper Plane — Bourbon, Aperol, Amaro Nonino, lemon — same equal-parts concept
- Naked and Famous — Mezcal, Aperol, Yellow Chartreuse, lime
Practise making the Last Word in the free Virtual Bar game.