About the Last Word cocktail
The Last Word is a classic equal-parts cocktail made with gin, Green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur, and lime juice. It is herbal, tart, and surprisingly balanced, with Chartreuse’s punchy alpine botanicals, cherry-almond sweetness from the maraschino, and enough lime to keep the drink sharp and lively.
The cocktail was invented in the 1910s at the Detroit Athletic Club, appearing on the 1916 menu for 35 cents, and was originally made with bathtub gin in the years around Prohibition. After decades of obscurity, it was rediscovered in 2003 at Seattle’s Zig Zag Café and helped lead the modern cocktail revival of the early 2000s.
