American · Drinks · SAMPLE RECIPE

Last Word · gin, green Chartreuse & lime

Equal measures of gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur, and lime create a tart, herbal cocktail with a quietly complex finish.

From The Saucey Life kitchen • Serves 2

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Pale muted yellow-green Last Word cocktail in a small stemmed coupe, without ice or garnish — AI-generated serving inspiration for a sample recipe.

PREP7 min

TOTAL7 min

SERVES2

A NOTE FROM THE KITCHEN

Four ingredients in equal measures.

Use green Chartreuse, not the sweeter, differently flavored yellow version, and clear maraschino liqueur rather than cherry syrup. The classic equal-parts structure is the point of this drink. No extra sugar or garnish is added.

Ready to get started? The ingredients and steps are right below.

LET’S MAKE SOMETHING GOOD

Last Word · gin, green Chartreuse & lime

Sample recipe awaiting kitchen testing. Timings are estimates. Contains alcohol.

The good part

Check off each step as you cook.

Chill the glasses.Fill small coupes with ice while preparing the drink. Measure all four liquids carefully.
Shake the equal parts.Combine gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur, and lime juice in a cocktail shaker. Add plenty of ice, close, and shake for about 15 seconds until very cold.
Strain and serve.Empty the coupes and discard their meltwater. Fine-strain the cocktail evenly into them and serve without garnish or serving ice.

0 of 3 steps complete

BEHIND THE DISH · Detroit, with a modern revival in Seattle

Last Word · gin, green Chartreuse & limeBeyond the plate.

Four equal measures produce a small, tart cocktail that carries both a club history and a story of rediscovery.

ORIGINS & EVOLUTION

A name on a Detroit menu.

A 1916 Detroit Athletic Club menu lists the Last Word, placing it before national Prohibition. The menu did not print its recipe. Ted Saucier’s 1951 Bottoms Up later preserved the familiar drink and credited its connection to the club.

CULTURAL CONTEXT

An old book helps a recipe travel again.

Seattle bartender Murray Stenson brought the recipe back to attention in 2003. Its renewed popularity illustrates how working bartenders and old books can reconnect a nearly forgotten drink with new audiences. The available record does not securely identify one original inventor.

AT THE TABLE

Keep all four measures equal.

Our version combines gin, green Chartreuse, clear maraschino liqueur, and fresh lime. The two liqueurs provide sweetness without extra syrup. It is shaken and strained into a small chilled coupe, without garnish.

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