Ingredients
- 3/4 oz Gin
- 3/4 oz Green Chartreuse
- 3/4 oz Cherry Liqueur
- 3/4 oz Lime Juice
Instructions
- Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake with ice.
- Double-strain into a chilled coupe glass.
Estimated Nutrition:
Where it came from
Invented at the Detroit Athletic Club around 1916 and credited to vaudevillian Frank Fogarty. It got into print in Ted Saucier's Bottoms Up in 1951 and then disappeared for half a century. Murray Stenson at the Zig Zag Cafe in Seattle pulled it back out in 2004 and the drink immediately took over American cocktail bars.
It's now one of the most-ordered drinks at any bar with a serious cocktail program. The 1:1:1:1 ratio is part of why bartenders love it: equal parts means anyone can build it without measuring.
What it tastes like
Herbal first, then sweet, then sour, with a long finish that tastes like Christmas trees and citrus peel. The green Chartreuse is the loudest flavour and brings 130 herbs and the booze (55% ABV).
Maraschino is the tightrope. Real maraschino liqueur (Luxardo) tastes nutty and stone-fruit-bitter, nothing like the syrupy red cherries you garnish a Manhattan with. Use the wrong one and the drink is unrecognisable.
The technique
Equal parts everything. 22ml each of gin, green Chartreuse, Luxardo maraschino, and fresh lime. Shake hard with ice for 12 seconds and double-strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a maraschino cherry on a pick if you're feeling fancy.
The shake matters because the four ingredients all have different densities. Long, hard shake fully integrates them. Stirred Last Words taste muddled and off-balance.
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Ingredient Spotlight
The bottles that make or break this drink.
The gin
- Use
- A clean London Dry (Tanqueray, Beefeater, Plymouth)
- Skip
- Heavily floral or contemporary gins (clash with the Chartreuse)
- Why
- You need juniper and structure. The Chartreuse already brings 130 botanicals.
The green Chartreuse
- Use
- Green Chartreuse (the 55% ABV version)
- Skip
- Yellow Chartreuse (different drink entirely, called a Final Ward)
- Why
- Green is herbal-bitter and intense. Yellow is softer and sweeter. They make different cocktails.
The maraschino
- Use
- Luxardo Maraschino Originale
- Skip
- The juice from a jar of maraschino cherries (different product, different sugar)
- Why
- Maraschino liqueur is bone-dry and faintly bitter. The cherry juice is just sugar.
Variations
Other cocktail-bar classics built around herbal liqueurs and citrus.
What if I don't have…
Quick substitutions for when the bottle shop is closed.
Yellow Chartreuse plus 5ml of strong herbal bitters gets close. Or use Chartreuse Verte VEP if you're feeling indulgent. There is no real substitute. Without it, you've made a Gimlet variant.
Other Italian maraschinos (Maraska, Stock 84) work. Avoid maraschino cherry juice; it's a different product and ruins the drink.
Lemon works in a pinch but changes the character. Bottled lime juice tastes flat and the drink falls over.
White rum is the best swap (this riff is sometimes called a Final Word). Tequila makes a Naked and Famous-adjacent drink.
Increase all four to 25ml. The 1:1:1:1 ratio survives the bump.
Frequently Asked Questions
Direct answers to what people search for after Googling this drink.
What is in a Last Word?
Equal parts gin, green Chartreuse, Luxardo maraschino liqueur, and fresh lime juice. Standard spec is 22ml of each, shaken with ice and double-strained into a chilled coupe.
How do you make a Last Word?
Combine 22ml gin, 22ml green Chartreuse, 22ml Luxardo maraschino, and 22ml fresh lime juice in a shaker. Add ice, shake hard for 12 seconds, double-strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.
Where did the Last Word come from?
Detroit Athletic Club, around 1916. Credited to vaudevillian Frank Fogarty. Forgotten for decades, then revived by Murray Stenson at the Zig Zag Cafe in Seattle in 2004.
What does a Last Word taste like?
Herbal, sweet, sour, and complex, with a long finish. The green Chartreuse leads with pine and herbs, the maraschino brings nutty stone-fruit notes, the lime cuts everything, and the gin holds it all together.
Can I use yellow Chartreuse?
You can, but it's a different drink (called a Final Ward when made with rye whiskey). Yellow Chartreuse is sweeter and lower ABV. The Last Word needs the bitter herbal punch of green.
Why is a Last Word so expensive?
Green Chartreuse is rare and expensive (around 70 dollars a bottle), and there's a global supply shortage. Luxardo maraschino is also pricey. Both ingredients are hard to source and have no real substitute.
How strong is a Last Word?
Around 30 to 32 percent ABV in the glass after dilution. Punchy. Two of these is a session.
Should I shake or stir a Last Word?
Shake. The four ingredients have different viscosities and densities. A shake fully integrates them. Stirred Last Words taste off-balance.
Maraschino liqueur vs maraschino cherries?
Different products. Maraschino liqueur (Luxardo Originale) is a dry, faintly bitter Italian spirit made from Marasca cherries. Maraschino cherries are sweetened, dyed, and sit in a sugar syrup. The juice from the jar is not a substitute for the liqueur.
What glass should I use?
A coupe or Nick and Nora. The drink is served up and the small glass keeps it cold while the four flavours get a chance to settle.
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