The Last Word

[FrogPrincesse]

So there is Pete's Word (Phil Ward), which is the Last Word with Laphroaig substituted for the gin.

 

 

The other night I discovered the Final Straw (Geoff Fewell) which is another Last Word variation with Laphroaig as the base spirit. I made it with Laphroaig 10 (substituted for quarter cask), Benedictine, yellow Chartreuse (substituted for MOF), lemon juice.

 

I was fearing something very sweet, but the intense smoky peat of the Laphroaig tricked my taste buds into thinking this was nicely balanced.

 

 

Edited March 27, 2017 by FrogPrincesse
fixed link (log)

[lesliec]

Prompted by this topic and a private chat with FrogPrincesse, I am no longer a Last Word virgin (now there's a name for a cocktail ...).

 

Full disclosure: as some regular visitors to this particular corner of eG may recall, as a rule I don't like drinks with citrus.  To me it makes them thin and ungenerous; I just don't like the taste and feel.

 

Well, I regret to report the Last Word hasn't changed my views.  All I could taste was lime, with just a hint of Chartreuse in the background.  Definitely not going onto my Kindred list any time soon!

 

I'll take all the bitter I can get (Fernet?  Bring it on) but I just can't handle sour.  Has anybody else got a particular aversion - perhaps I could say sensitivity - to citrus in a cocktail?

[ananth]

that's the first time I hear that
I also do prefer stirred drinks but an aversion to citrus is pretty unusual.

Maybe you should try drinks with less citrus such as (the only one I can propose even if I never tried it) a Between the sheets.

[Rafa]

I do find that citrus can overwhelm and flatter flavors (while sugar amplifies them). For complex and aromatic sours where a lot of the flavor resides in the booze, I tend to prefer smaller relative amounts of citrus and sugar than I would for a simple sour (like a Whiskey Sour or a Daiquiri or Rum Sour), or even a simple daisy like a Margarita or Sidecar. I might suggest as much as five parts of booze to one each of citrus and sweetener in cases like that. 

 

If citrus is overwhelming flavors for you, @lesliec, may I suggest turning a stirred drink you enjoy into a sour by adding small equal amounts of sugar and citrus to the recipe, shaking, and working up from there? 

[Craig E]

Do you like non-citrus contributors of tartness/sourness/acidity (e.g. shrubs, cassis, passion fruit)?

[lesliec]

Thanks, @ananth, @Rafa, @Craig E.

 

The old 'training the palate' trick, eh?  Yes, it's worth a try.  After all, I trained myself to like olives some years ago.  I might even start with a Last Word (I like everything else that's in it) with greatly reduced lime and see how I go.

 

Of course Plan B, which has served me well so far, is simply to make things that don't have citrus in them!  There seem to be quite a number of those ...

[haresfur]

On 10/5/2016 at 6:32 AM, Rafa said:

I do find that citrus can overwhelm and flatter flavors (while sugar amplifies them). For complex and aromatic sours where a lot of the flavor resides in the booze, I tend to prefer smaller relative amounts of citrus and sugar than I would for a simple sour (like a Whiskey Sour or a Daiquiri or Rum Sour), or even a simple daisy like a Margarita or Sidecar. I might suggest as much as five parts of booze to one each of citrus and sweetener in cases like that. 

 

If citrus is overwhelming flavors for you, @lesliec, may I suggest turning a stirred drink you enjoy into a sour by adding small equal amounts of sugar and citrus to the recipe, shaking, and working up from there? 

 

I was on a minor sour kick for a while. I'd have to prowl the archives but I think drinks with just a little sour are under appreciated.

Start with a Ti' punch.

[Craig E]

I think the Silver Nail is a pretty good little-bit-of-citrus stirred drink: 1 oz. each blended Scotch, gin, and Drambuie, 1/4 oz. lemon juice, on the rocks with a lemon twist.

[Craig E]

On 8/18/2009 at 8:49 AM, mkayahara said:

Made a Last Word variation last night with La Favorite rhum agricole blanc substituted for the gin. A tasty and, I think, worthwhile rendition. I'm sure I'm not the first one to do this, so I'm wondering if there's a consecrated name for this variation. For that matter, is there any base spirit that doesn't work in this drink?

(To respond to a seven year old post,) it seems at least one source calls the rhum agricole version a "Dernier Mot." 

Wow, it's terrific!

[FrogPrincesse]

Just now, Craig E said:

(To respond to a seven year old post,) it seems at least one source calls the rhum agricole version a "Dernier Mot." 

Wow, it's terrific!

 

I've also seen it called "Enough Said"...

 

If you like rhum agricole blanc with Chartreuse, make sure to try the Green Mile in Death & Co and the Baie du Galion in Smuggler's Cove, if you haven't already done so!

 

[Craig E]

39 minutes ago, FrogPrincesse said:

If you like rhum agricole blanc with Chartreuse, make sure to try the Green Mile in Death & Co and the Baie du Galion in Smuggler's Cove, if you haven't already done so!

 

Thanks, I've added them to my list! 

[Craig E]

The Final Voyage is equal parts Smith & Cross, apricot liqueur, lime, and green Chartreuse, and it's good! It's not surprisingly pretty sweet, since only the lime isn't contributing some sweetness, but these are all flavorful ingredients that each has its turn coming to the fore with each sip.

Deceptively strong too!

Edited January 18, 2017 by Craig E (log)

[ananth]

Saigo no kotoba, it means "Last Word" in Japanese.

A recipe found in the Experimental Cocktail Club book.

30ml of Nikka Pure Malt White (I used Nikka from the barrel)

15ml of Yellow Chartreuse

15ml of Maraschino

Garnish with a lime twist.

The recipe asks for a shake instead of a stir. Since half of the drink is pretty sweet, extra dilution is, I guess, necessary. Stirred, the drink would also be too "syrupy".

 

It was still sweet but not too much. Adding more whisky wouldn't be a bad idea. But once again, when would it?

[EvergreenDan]

Odd that a Last Word variant would omit the citrus, since it is fundamentally a sour. I'd try adding lemon to that.

[ananth]

The citrus is present, as a twist. 

It is indeed not a sour but it can be denied that it is in fact a last word variation

[Rafa]

Stirred Words can be quite good, though you need to watch for sweetness. I like to cut the Maraschino with kirschwasser. 

[FrogPrincesse]

Is anybody also participating in the month-long Last Word cocktail party on instagram? I feel this is the new version of Mixology Monday!

 

 

 

 

[haresfur]

On 1/19/2017 at 9:28 PM, ananth said:

Saigo no kotoba, it means "Last Word" in Japanese.

 

 

 

A recipe found in the Experimental Cocktail Club book.

 

30ml of Nikka Pure Malt White (I used Nikka from the barrel)

 

15ml of Yellow Chartreuse

 

15ml of Maraschino

 

Garnish with a lime twist.

 

The recipe asks for a shake instead of a stir. Since half of the drink is pretty sweet, extra dilution is, I guess, necessary. Stirred, the drink would also be too "syrupy".

 

 

 

It was still sweet but not too much. Adding more whisky wouldn't be a bad idea. But once again, when would it?

 

 

 

On 1/24/2017 at 7:24 AM, Rafa said:

Stirred Words can be quite good, though you need to watch for sweetness. I like to cut the Maraschino with kirschwasser. 

 

Heated up, that sounds like a nice Whisky Mac variation - I like adding a little Charteuse to them.

 

And Stirred Word is a good drink (or band) name.

[FrogPrincesse]

A classic Last Word with 3/4 oz Beefeater London dry gin, 3/4 oz lime juice, 3/4 oz green Chartreuse, 3/4 oz Luxardo maraschino liqueur, and a brandied griotte cherry garnish. I hadn't had one in a while and it just works. The green Chartreuse and maraschino are both super "busy" ingredients but together they work beautifully.

 

 

 

Edited April 17, 2017 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[Chris Hennes]

Aviation Gin, Maraska Maraschino, Green Chartreuse and Lime,  in the classic proportions... 

 

After a long hiatus from making cocktails, it's nice to remember why this was in my top-ten list.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

19 minutes ago, Chris Hennes said:

Aviation Gin, Maraska Maraschino, Green Chartreuse and Lime,  in the classic proportions... 

 

After a long hiatus from making cocktails, it's nice to remember why this was in my top-ten list.

 

Welcome back!  Lovely photograph.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

@lesliec stole my title but anyhow my no longer virginal first last word:

 

 

Malacca and V.E.P.

 

Crystal, Baccarat Sully water goblet.

 

[lesliec]

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

@lesliec stole my title but anyhow my no longer virginal first last word

 

Yes, we must work on that.  Last Virgin?

[Craig E]

Adams' [sic] Words

• 3/4 oz Smith & Cross Jamaican rum
• 3/4 oz Green Chartreuse
• 3/4 oz Ginger liqueur (called for homemade, I used Stirrings)
• 3/4 oz Lime juice

Shake with ice. Up.

 

I would have first called this a Last Word with Smith & Cross subbed for gin and ginger liqueur subbed for maraschino. But on further reflection there's a kind of double-switch happening here: the spirit provides the funk instead of the liqueur, and the liqueur provides the sharpness instead of the spirit.  

 

I liked it; the ginger vied with the chartreuse herbs on the finish, all within a warm brown-sugary envelope of rum. 

 

On posting I was reminded of the Final Voyage I posted last year, a few posts up from this, which is the same thing with apricot liqueur instead of ginger liqueur. Both float my boat--someday I'll have to do a side by side tasting to pick a winner.

[ananth]

Wow that's an audacious recipe, I would have never imagined mixing smith and cross with green chartreuse. And to add ginger to that 😮

I really can't imagine how this would taste. 

 

Ok now I have got to buy ginger liqueur 😩