Cocktail · Spirit-forward
Last Word
Gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino, lime — equal parts, total mystery.
How to order it: A Prohibition-era riddle revived in Seattle. Herbal, sharp, unforgettable.
Flavor profile
The recipe
- ¾ oz gin
- ¾ oz green Chartreuse
- ¾ oz maraschino liqueur
- ¾ oz lime juice
- Shake; coupe
The story
A Prohibition-era relic from the Detroit Athletic Club — club records place it around 1916 — its creation often attributed, on thin evidence, to vaudeville monologuist Frank Fogarty. It vanished for decades, preserved like a fly in amber in Ted Saucier's 1951 cocktail book Bottoms Up, until 2004, when Seattle bartender Murray Stenson resurrected it at the Zig Zag Café and accidentally launched a global revival. Equal parts gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino, and lime should not work; it reads like a dare. Instead it lands in improbable, herbal, electric balance. The Last Word endures as proof that the canon isn't closed — sometimes a classic just needs a second witness.
Modern variations
The Last Word cast a long shadow. These pours carry the torch:
Paper Plane
Cocktail
Bourbon, Aperol, Amaro Nonino, lemon — equal parts, modern legend.
Naked and Famous
Cocktail
Mezcal, yellow Chartreuse, Aperol, lime — smoky, herbal, impossible to forget.
Adjacent pours