Last Word

Add the cherry to the bottom of the glass before pouring the drink in order to avoid splashing and having the cherry’s syrup “stain” the cocktail.

You can use overproof (Navy strength) gin to help it stand up to the other bold flavors of this recipe.

Each brand of gin has its own mix of botanicals. Your Last Word will change depending on which brand you decide to use.

The earliest mention of this drink is from a 1916 magazine from Detroit Athletic Club.

In its early days, the Last Word was popularized by Frank Fogarty, an entertainer who was most famous for his vaudeville acts.

The name “Last Word” is potentially an homage to Fogarty’s act, which wrapped up the show with a monologue.

The Last Word appears in 1951’s Bottom’s up! By Ted Saucier.

In the decades that followed, the Last Word fell into obscurity, and it wouldn't make an appearance until the next century.

In 2004, Murray Stenson, a bartender at the Zig Zag Café in Seattle, brought it back, after finding it in Saucier’s book.

The cocktail became a favorite in Seattle and was brought a year later to New York by Audrey Saunders, owner of the Pegu Club. From there it was popularized all over the world.

There are countless variations of the Last Word, with just about every spirit and liqueur you can think of.