Last Word Variations

6 drinks · Updated October 2026

The Last Word combines equal parts gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur and lime juice. It is associated with the Detroit Athletic Club and was later published in Ted Saucier’s 1951 book Bottoms Up. This page lists the namesake drinks first, then close structural riffs. Alongside the Last Word, examples include Final Ward and Naked & Famous. Related four-part sours change spirits, liqueurs or citrus while retaining the interaction between herbal sweetness and acidity. The useful comparison is the role of each ingredient: base spirit, sweetener, aromatic modifier or citrus, rather than the name alone.

The Last Word

• Last Word

  Detroit Athletic Club (c. 1920s); revived by Murray Stenson, Zig Zag Café, Seattle

  0.75 oz Gin 0.75 oz Green Chartreuse 0.75 oz Maraschino liqueur 0.75 oz Lime juice

• Tom Macy's Last Word

  Tom Macy, Clover Club, Brooklyn (2018)

  1 oz Gin 1 oz Maraschino liqueur 1 oz Green Chartreuse 0.5 oz Lime juice 0.5 oz Lemon juice

• Paddy O'Brien's Last Word

  Paddy O'Brien, The Last Word, Queens (2018)

  1 oz Gin 0.75 oz Green Chartreuse 0.75 oz Maraschino liqueur 0.75 oz Lime juice

Riffs

• Yellow

  Franck Audoux, Cravan, Paris

  0.75 oz London dry gin 0.75 oz Gentian liqueur 0.75 oz Yellow Chartreuse 0.75 oz Lemon juice

• Final Ward

  Phil Ward, Death & Co, New York (2007)

  0.75 oz Rye whiskey 0.75 oz Green Chartreuse 0.75 oz Maraschino liqueur 0.75 oz Lemon juice

• Naked & Famous

  Joaquín Simó, Death & Co, New York (2011)

  0.75 oz Mezcal 0.75 oz Yellow Chartreuse 0.75 oz Aperol 0.75 oz Lime juice