Mezcal Last Word recipe
Smoky mezcal breathes fiery new life into the iconic equal-parts botanical sour classic.
Method: Shake and fine strain ·
Glass: Chilled coupe glass ·
Time: 3 min ·
Difficulty: Intermediate ·
Family: Modern Classics
Ingredients
- 3/4 oz Mezcal (Espadín)
- 3/4 oz Green Chartreuse
- 3/4 oz Maraschino liqueur
- 3/4 oz Fresh lime juice
How to make a Mezcal Last Word
- Chill a coupe glass in the refrigerator or freezer.
- Combine mezcal, Green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur, and fresh lime juice in a shaker tin with ice.
- Shake vigorously for ten to fifteen seconds until thoroughly chilled.
- Fine strain the mixture through a mesh strainer into the chilled coupe glass.
- Garnish with a brandied cherry and serve immediately.
Garnish
Brandied cherry dropped into the glass.
Pro tip
Use an artisanal Oaxacan espadín mezcal with a gentle smoke level to prevent the peat from overpowering the herbal complexity of the Chartreuse.
History of the Mezcal Last Word
While the origin of the traditional gin-based Last Word traces back to Detroit's Detroit Athletic Club during the Prohibition era, the mezcal variation emerged from contemporary craft cocktail bars seeking to anchor herbal liqueurs with earthy smoke. Bartender Phil Ward is frequently credited with popularizing agave-forward iterations like La Última Palabra at Death & Co in New York around 2007. However, exact attribution remains debated among craft bartenders who independently experimented with swapping base spirits in equal-parts classic formulas during the craft cocktail revival.
Flavour profile
Smoky, Herbal, Tart, Complex
Variations
- Final Ward — Substitutes rye whiskey and yellow Chartreuse for mezcal and green Chartreuse.
- Paper Plane — Uses bourbon, Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and lemon juice in equal parts.
Practise making the Mezcal Last Word in the free Virtual Bar game.