Paul Kushner
True to its name, the taste and power of The Last Word will leave you speechless.
Now a cult-favorite in trendy bars in every state, this historical cocktail is a great palate cleanser. The sweet and sour flavors give a good bite while the pungent scent awakens the senses.
Whether you enjoy the classic recipe or prefer to play with the portions or type of spirits, mix yourself up a serving of this cocktail today and experience the combination of tastes that make it a historical and modern favorite.
Because of its equal-parts simple recipe, the cocktail is easily scaled up for multiple batches while keeping its consistent flavor glass after glass.
History
First served circa 1915 at the Detroit Athletic Club, this cocktail was created just prior to the start of Prohibition.
Developed by Frank Fogarty, one of the club’s bartenders, it became one of the most successful drinks during the Prohibition era. The first known listing of the cocktail is in the club’s 1916 menu which lists the drink for 35 cents.
Due to its staying power during a controversial time, this drink eventually appeared in the 1951 book, Bottoms Up!, by Ted Saucier. However, at the time of publishing after World War Two, the cocktail had mostly been pushed to the back of the shelf.
After decades of sitting dormant, the pre-Prohibition drink was revived in 2004. In the rainy city of Seattle at the Zig Zag Café, Murray Stenson revived the classic cocktail after reading about it in Saucier’s book.
Taking a chance on a long-lost recipe, Stenson began serving the drink to customers, and its popularity grew from there. The cocktail then began appearing in bars all across the country after almost half a century of dormancy.
How To Make It
The Last Word
The Last Word is simple to make, with 4 ingredients in equal parts. While you may not have maraschino liqueur or green Chartreuse in your home bar, any bartender will be able to mix up this sweet and tart classic cocktail.
Ingredients
- 3/4 oz gin
- 3/4 oz maraschino liqueur
- 3/4 oz green Chartreuse
- 3/4 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
- Brandied cherry for garnish
Instructions
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice
- Pour in the gin, maraschino liqueur, green Chartreuse, and lime juice
- Vigorously shake until chilled
- Strain over a coupe glass, previously chilled
- Add a brandied cherry for garnish, if desired
Variations
The herbal flavors, with a perfect balance of sweet and sour, make this cocktail as close to perfect as possible. But as with any popular drink, variations have begun to sprout up in bars nationwide.
Professional bartenders and at-home amateur bartenders alike have tweaked the recipe in countless ways to appease the palates of their drinkers. Alterations range from switching the lime for lemon to swapping the gin for whiskey.
In 2008, a New York City barkeep named Sam Ross created The Paper Plane, which is a similar recipe but features bourbon instead of gin.
Many altered variations stay close to the original recipe but use a different base spirit in place of gin. But of course, since bathtub gin was used in the first versions of this drink, any modern-day creation with bottled gin does actually stray from the original.
FAQ
What does the last word taste like?
The Last Word is a well-balanced cocktail that is all at once tart, subtly sweet, and with complex herbal flavors.
How much alcohol is in the last word cocktail?
The Last Word is about 27% ABV, although it varies slightly based on the strength of the gin you use.
What is the story behind the last word cocktail?
The Last Word was created in 1915 by a bartender at the Detroit Athletic Club. It became one of the most popular cocktails pre-prohibition, but fell out of style for a while before its resurgence in 2004.
Is the last word a sour?
The Last Word does have a slightly sour flavor, but it’s not a classic sour cocktail. It does have the same elements as a sour, in that there is a sour citrus element, a base spirit, and sweetener in the form of liqueur.
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