The Last Word Cocktail

The Last Word Cocktail  – an easy and classic gin cocktail.  This cocktail recipe is made with only four ingredients – gin, maraschino liqueur, green chartreuse, and lime juice, it still has such depth of flavor!

 

Green Chartreuse

I’m not going to lie to you.  It is very easy to drop down a liquor cabinet rabbit hole once you start making a lot of cocktails.  It seems like every week we stumble upon some other liquor that we simply must have.

Last month, it was Creme de Violette – so that we could make A Violette Royale  and The Aviation Cocktail.

This month it’s Green Chartreuse.  Green Chartreuse looks like something made to glow under a blacklight.  It is the only liquor to have a completely natural green color.   A  French Liqueur that has been made by the Carthusian Monks since 1737!

Chartreuse is a difficult taste to describe.  It’s sweet, but herby and kind of vegetal.  See, I told you it was hard to describe.  So unique.

 

Ingredients in the Last Word Cocktail.

With our newly acquired bottle of Chartreuse, we set out to make a classic gin cocktail – The Last Word Cocktail.  The Last Word is a gin based prohibition era cocktail that was originally developed at the Detroit Athletic Club.

Maraschino Liqueur – a liqueur made from Marasca cherries.  

Gin – we used a London Dry Gin.  

Chartreuse. 

Lime Juice – fresh squeezed! 

How to Make this Classic Gin Cocktail

This cocktail is super easy to make because in it’s classic form it calls for equal parts of each liquid.  

• Fill a cocktail shaker half full with ice.  
• Add 3/4 ounce each of chartreuse, lime juice, gin and maraschino liqueur to the cocktail shaker.
• Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 
• Garnish with a twist of lime.

Some modern recipes call for different ratios, in the book, Booze and Vinyl they “ladder” the drink to change up the balance. 

I can just imagine sitting in a speakeasy sipping a few of these!  They are so delicious.  Herby and refreshing.  The fact that they are so easy to make, puts them on a regular cocktail rotation at our house.

More Delicious Gin Cocktails:

Southside Cocktail – another simple classic cocktail, this one includes mint! 

White Lady Cocktail – a classic gin cocktail with only 3 ingredients and so sippable! 

Satan’s Whiskers Cocktail – gin, vermouth and orange liqueur make a complex tasting cocktail that is super easy to make! 

For even more recipes, be sure and follow my Gin Cocktails and Recipes Board on Pinterest. 

This was originally published in 2014 and has been updated for 2019.