Four I'm Under My Host

Rob, Shannon and I have recently been enjoying a classic cocktail called The Last Word. You can find lots of cocktail experts raving about it, from Scott Beattie in his Artisanal Cocktails book to the Cocktail Chronicles blog. And Rob recently had one at Bourbon & Branch. It even merits a Wikipedia entry, although most of you have probably never enjoyed one. It is dead-simple to make, assuming you have the ingredients on hand:

• 1 part gin
• 1 part Luxardo (maraschino liquer)
• 1 part green Chartreuse
• 1 part lime juice

Served up, of course. I love the elegant simplicity of the equal proportions of each ingredient. It is a difficult combination to pull off, although the Negroni is a classic with the same elegance and Rob’s original Absinthe Triolet also achieves perfect balance.

Of course you might not have all of these on hand, although Luxardo should, by now, be a regular part of your bar setup (you do make an Aviation every now and again, don’t you?). But, as it happens, I found myself with neither Luxardo, Chartreuse nor lime juice. Aaack! But necessity is, of course, the mother of invention. So here’s what I came up with:

• 1 part gin
• 1 part triple sec (for the Luxardo)
• 1 part St. Germain (for the Chartreuse)
• 1 part lemon juice (for the lime)

The result is a fantastic, herbal libation that had Shannon nodding her head in agreement that it deserved a blog entry and a name. Since it was inspired by The Last Word, I’ve dubbed this drink The Post-Script.

Shannon also observed that, somehow, the combination gives birth to a lychee flavor. Very pleasant and intriguing. It can be served, like its inspiration, without a garnish, but I chose to add a brandied cherry and a bit syrup. You also might find it a bit too floral.  The solution to this is to back off on the St. Germain (subtract a 1/4 part) and add a bit more gin (add a 1/4 part). This does sacrafice the 1:1:1:1 ratio, which is a shame, but a small price to pay if you like the result better.

In any case…enjoy!

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