Last Word (cocktail)
Equal-parts gin cocktail revived from Prohibition-era obscurity.
The Last Word is a gin cocktail that first appeared at the Detroit Athletic Club in the 1910s, just before Prohibition began. It faded from memory for decades, then came back into fashion during the 2000s cocktail revival after Seattle bartender Murray Stenson of the Zig Zag Café rediscovered it.
The drink is made with equal parts gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur, and fresh lime juice, shaken with ice and strained into a glass with no ice. During Prohibition, the Detroit Athletic Club used bathtub gin; today, the club serves a version made with vodka, spices, herbs, and citrus to mimic that original spirit. Variations include the "Final Ward," created by New York bartender Phil Ward, which swaps rye whiskey and lemon juice for the gin and lime, and the "Last of the Oaxacans," which replaces gin with mezcal.
According to Ted Saucier’s 1951 cocktail book *Bottoms Up!*, the drink originated at the Detroit Athletic Club and was brought to New York in the late 1910s by vaudeville performer Frank Fogarty, who had been working in Detroit. This led some to think Fogarty invented it, but the actual inventor is unknown. Club archives show the Last Word was on the menu as early as 1916, priced at 35 cents—the most expensive cocktail there at the time.
After World War II, the drink fell out of favor. In 2003, Stenson found the recipe in *Bottoms Up!* and added it to the Zig Zag Café’s menu. It became a local cult hit in Seattle before spreading nationwide. New York bartender Audrey Saunders of the Pegu Club described it as a "perfectly balanced" palate cleanser with a "good bite." The cocktail’s revival inspired later creations like the paper plane and the gin blossom. The recipe later appeared in guides such as the *Mr. Boston Official Bartender's Guide*.
On May 20, 2011, Rachel Maddow demonstrated how to make the drink on her MSNBC show, calling it the "last word for the end of the world." This was a nod to the rapture prediction by Christian radio host Harold Camping and the MSNBC program *The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell*, which covered Camping’s predictions extensively.
Quick Facts
- Base
- Gin, green Chartreuse
- Ingredients
- 22.5 ml gin / 22.5 ml green Chartreuse / 22.5 ml maraschino Luxardo / 22.5 ml fresh lime juice
- Served
- Straight up: chilled, without ice
- Prep
- Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
- Drinkware
- Cocktail glass
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Last Word consists of equal amounts of gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur, and freshly pressed lime juice, which are combined in a shaker with ice. After shaking, the mix is poured through a cocktail strainer and served straight up without ice. The Prohibition-era cocktail at the Detroit Athletic Club used bathtub gin, and today the club serves a recreation of that spirit (vodka, spices, herbs, citrus) in their Last Word. Other variants include the 'Final Ward,' created by the New York bartender Phil Ward, which substitutes rye whiskey and lemon juice for gin and lime; and the 'Last of the Oaxacans,' which uses mezcal instead of gin.
Ted Saucier's 1951 cocktail book Bottoms Up! states that the Last Word originated at the Detroit Athletic Club and had been brought to New York in the late 1910s by the acclaimed vaudeville monologist Frank Fogarty, who had been working in Detroit. This had led some authors to assume that Fogarty had invented the drink. While its inventor is unknown, Detroit Athletic Club archives revealed the Last Word to be on the menu as early as 1916, when it was the club's most expensive cocktail at a price of 35 cents (equivalent to $10.36 in 2025).
Reader's Guide
The Last Word fell into obscurity after World War II. In 2003, Seattle bartender Murray Stenson saw the recipe in a copy of Bottoms Up! and added it to the menu of the Zig Zag Café, where it became a regional cult hit before spreading in popularity across the country. Bartender Audrey Saunders of New York's Pegu Club called the drink a 'perfectly balanced' palate cleanser with a 'good bite.' The renewed interest in the drink then inspired the creation of other cocktails like the paper plane and the gin blossom. The recipe subsequently reappeared in cocktail guides, including the Mr. Boston Official Bartender's Guide. On May 20, 2011, Rachel Maddow demonstrated the preparation of the cocktail on her show on MSNBC, calling the drink the 'last word for the end of the world,' in reference to the rapture and end of world prediction of the Christian radio host Harold Camping and the MSNBC news program The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell.
Did You Know?
- The Last Word was the most expensive cocktail on the Detroit Athletic Club menu in 1916, costing 35 cents (equivalent to $10.36 in 2025).
- The drink was revived in 2003 by Seattle bartender Murray Stenson after he found the recipe in Ted Saucier's 1951 book Bottoms Up!.
- The Prohibition-era version at the Detroit Athletic Club used bathtub gin; the club now serves a recreation using vodka, spices, herbs, and citrus.
- Variants include the 'Final Ward' (rye whiskey and lemon juice) and the 'Last of the Oaxacans' (mezcal instead of gin).
More in IBA official cocktails 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced