Last Word Recipe: How to Make a Last Word

The Last Word is a well-balanced cocktail made with gin, maraschino liqueur, green chartreuse, and fresh lime juice in equal proportions. Its four ingredients work together to create a cocktail that is both tart and sweet, with a rich undercurrent of complex herbal bitterness and ripe cherry flavour. It is best described as a drinkable key lime pie, but tastier. This drink is easy to remember, even easier to make, and completely distinctive in its own right.

The Last Word first appeared in Ted Saucier's 1951 cocktail book Bottoms Up. According to Saucier, the cocktail was first served approximately 30 years ago at the Detroit Athletic Club and was later introduced to New York by Frank Fogarty. St. John Frizell's research in the archives of the Detroit Athletic Club indicated that the drink was slightly older, predating the Prohibition era by a few years. It was previously available on the club's 1916 menu for 35 cents, or approximately $8.22 in 2019 currency, making it the club's most costly beverage at the time. The Last Word cocktail drink has a rich herbal flavour, a hint of fresh citrus, and the subtle sweetness of a traditional whiskey. It is best recommended for someone who enjoys a drink with a brisk kick and a nice sweet, citrus hit.

What are the ingredients for a Last Word?

Listed below are the following ingredients for a Last Word cocktail.

• 20ml Gin: Gin is an alcoholic beverage with a distinct citrus scent and flavour, as well as a trace of pine and a slight bitterness. Gin's primary ingredient is the juniper berry, which imparts a piney, rustic flavour into the drink.
• 20ml Maraschino: Maraschino cherries are richly preserved and sweetened cherries. They originated in Croatia in the nineteenth century, but commercial variations have undergone major changes in terms of manufacturing methods and application since then.
• 20ml Green Chartreuse: Green Chartreuse is a spirit made from sugar beets. It is distilled in copper pots, macerated with a specialised botanical recipe, and aged in charred French oak barrels. The spirit boasts sweet and peppery flavours, with a special herbal finish. It tastes like mint, sage, gentian, apple and vanilla all rolled into one.
• 20ml Fresh Lime Juice: Lime juice is freshly squeezed from limes and has a tangy, acidic flavour. It is also quite fresh.

1. 20ml Gin

Gin is necessary to make a Last Word cocktail drink. Gin has a spicy flavour and, depending on its origin, may include pepper flavours such as ginger and sage. This will alter and distort the drink's flavour and perception by imparting a bitter, salty, or sweet flavour with a hint of spice. Gin contains 40% alcohol by volume and 97 calories per 1.5 ounce shot. The best gins to use in the Last Word cocktail are London Dry Gin, Beefeater, and Tanqueray.

2. 20ml Maraschino

Maraschino is one of the key ingredients necessary to add to the Last Word cocktail drink. It changes the colour of the drink and imparts a sweetness that balances the sharpness of the gin. Contrary to popular misconception, Maraschino does not contain alcohol; rather, one Maraschino cherry contains 7 calories.

3. 20ml Green Chartreuse

The green Chartreuse is an essential ingredient in the Last Word cocktail drink. Its early hit is more herbaceous, almost mentholated. Additionally, it has a sweetness that pairs nicely with gin. Green Chartreuse contains 55% alcohol by volume and 100 calories.

4. 20ml Fresh Lime Juice

The last ingredient of the Last Word cocktail drink is fresh lime juice. Fresh lime juice from freshly squeezed limes is necessary to provide flavour to the cocktail. It is tangy and has an acidic flavour that complements the overall flavour of the cocktail. While fresh lime juice contains no alcohol, it does contain 5 calories.

How to Make a Last Word?

Preparing a Last Word has never been easier thanks to this recipe, so don't miss it and make the most out of your cocktail!

1. Pour all the ingredients into a shaker and shake.
2. Fine strain into a chilled martini or coupe glass.
3. Garnish with a cherry.

1. Pour all the ingredients into a shake and shake.

In a shaker, combine the gin, maraschino, green chartreuse, and lime juice. Shake vigorously. This step is necessary since it will ensure that the cocktail has a balanced flavour.

2. Fine strain into a chilled martini or coupe glass.

Strain it into a chilled coupe glass. It is important to strain the drink and make sure that the glass is pre-chilled in the freezer. Straining the drink will remove any unwanted substance before serving it.

3. Garnish with a cherry.

For garnishing, start with placing a cherry on a cutting board. Then, use a bar stick to insert the cherry onto the top of the cocktail. This step is necessary as it will give a nice visual aesthetic to the cocktail.

What nutritional benefit can you get from drinking a Last Word?

Drinking a Last Word cocktail does not provide any nutritional benefit. However, the cocktail does have an alcohol content of 27% by volume and 185 calories per serving.

What are the different variations of Last Word?

There are multiple variations of the classic Last Word cocktail drink, including the Final Word, Ultima Palabra, Paper Plane, Naked and Famous, Wordsmith, and Third Ward. To variate a classic Last Word cocktail drink, the bartender should change one of the ingredients. The procedure of making a varied Last Word is just the same as making a classic one. However, instead of using gin, a bartender can use whiskey to add a spicier flavour and depth of taste to the drink. Some similar cocktails to the classic Last Word are the Aviation Cocktail, Final Word Cocktail, and Paper Plane Cocktail.