MixBooze

The Last Word: A Cocktail That Refuses to Stay Forgotten 🍸✨

Author

mixBooze

Posted on May 8, 2025

Classic
Bitter
Sweet
Sour
Herbaceous
Aperitif
Spring
Summer
Up
Shaken
Gin
Liqueur

A pale green Last Word cocktail served in a coupe glass.

Introduction ✨

The Last Word is a cocktail that truly deserves the final say in any cocktail conversation. This brilliant green libation offers a perfect balance of sweet, sour, herbal, and spirituous flavors that dance across your palate with remarkable harmony. The Last Word is both sophisticated and approachable—a cocktail that whispers of Prohibition-era speakeasies while shouting its relevance to modern craft cocktail enthusiasts.

A History Shrouded in Boozy Drama 🕵️♂️

Originally created at the Detroit Athletic Club around 1915, The Last Word had its moment in the spotlight before Prohibition cast a shadow over America's drinking culture. The cocktail was first documented in Ted Saucier's 1951 cocktail book "Bottoms Up," but then mysteriously vanished from bar menus for decades—giving bartenders the last laugh as they watched patrons struggle to find this hidden gem.

Fast forward to 2004, when Seattle bartender Murray Stenson rediscovered this forgotten classic while flipping through Saucier's dusty tome. Stenson added it to the menu at the Zig Zag Café, and just like that, The Last Word spoke again. Suddenly, everyone wanted a sip of this "zombie" cocktail—proof that good taste never dies.


Recipe: How to Summon the Spirit of the 1920s 🧙♂️

Ingredients (for 1 serving)

Ingredient Measurement
Gin ¾ oz (22.5 ml)
Green Chartreuse ¾ oz (22.5 ml)
Maraschino Liqueur ¾ oz (22.5 ml)
Fresh Lime Juice ¾ oz (22.5 ml)
Ice As needed
Garnish (optional) Lime wheel or Brandied Cherry

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
  2. Shake vigorously until well-chilled.
  3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
  4. Garnish with a brandied cherry, if desired.

Decoding the Classic Charm of the Last Word 🧩

The Last Word's allure lies in its harmonious blend of flavors: the botanical notes of gin, the herbal complexity of Green Chartreuse, the sweet nuttiness of maraschino liqueur, and the zesty brightness of lime juice. all in perfect harmony. It's like a bar brawl that ends in a group hug

Fun Facts to Impress Your Friends 🤯

  • Equal Parts Elegance: The Last Word is part of a family of cocktails known for their equal-parts composition, making it deceptively easy to remember—even after you've had one too many.
  • Name origins: Some say the cocktail got its name because after drinking it, you're so impressed you have nothing else to say.
  • Monk business: Green Chartreuse is made by Carthusian monks using a secret formula of 130 herbs, plants, and flowers. So technically, every time you drink a Last Word, you're supporting monastic tradition. Feel free to use that as justification.

Final Sip: The Last Word proves that sometimes the most eloquent statements come in the simplest forms. Four ingredients, equal parts, infinite pleasure. Case closed—the cocktail has spoken. 🥂