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By Root 351 0

Athletic Club and resurrected a few years back by Murray Stenson at Seattle’s classic-cocktail haven, the Zig Zag Café. Its fame has spread as far and wide as the classic-cocktail movement itself, spawning numerous variations. A bit sweet, a bit sour, a bit herbal, a bit pungent, with huge, bold flavors, the Last Word is definitely not a poolside drink, and probably not for the Cosmo crowd. It’s a thinking person’s drink. A drink with a swagger.

THE LAST WORD

Serves 1

¾ ounce gin

¾ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice

¾ ounce green Chartreuse

¾ ounce maraschino liqueur, preferably Luxardo

Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Add the gin, lime juice, Chartreuse, and maraschino liqueur. Shake well, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Another great use of Chartreuse is in the Bijou, a turn-of-the-twentieth-century cousin of the martini. Just like the Last Word, the Bijou harkens to a time when bartenders were adept at mixing Continental liqueurs with their gin. This recipe exists in all the great early cocktail books. Always be sure to use green Chartreuse.

BIJOU

Serves 1

1 ounce green chartreuse

1 ounce gin

1 ounce sweet vermouth

1 dash orange bitters

Preserved or maraschino cherry (this page), for garnish

Lemon peel twist, for garnish

Fill a mixing glass two-thirds full with ice. Add the Chartreuse, gin, vermouth, and bitters. Stir vigorously, then strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the cherry and lemon peel twist.

A more contemporary use of Chartreuse can be found in the Chartreuse Swizzle, which is a mash-up of Old World and New World. In this case Chartreuse replaces rum in the Swizzle, a Caribbean standard.

CHARTREUSE SWIZZLE

Serves 1

1¼ ounces green Chartreuse

1 ounce pineapple juice

¾ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice

½ ounce falernum, preferably John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum

In a Collins glass packed with crushed ice, combine the Chartreuse, pineapple and lime juices, and falernum. Swizzle with a bar spoon or swizzle stick until the outside of the glass frosts, adding more crushed ice as needed to fill the glass. Serve with a straw.

Recipe by Marcovaldo Dionysos, created for Clock Bar, San Francisco

St-Germain: Beyond the Romance

As much as I tease St-Germain about its fantastic story of men in berets on bikes harvesting the elderflowers, the liqueur itself is tasty and has many uses in great cocktails. It’s become so prevalent among top bartenders that it’s been called “bartender’s ketchup” by some wags.

ELDERFASHIONED

Serves 1

This is an elderflowery take on the classic Old Fashioned.

2 ounces bourbon

½ ounce St-Germain elderflower liqueur

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Orange peel twist, for garnish

Fill an old-fashioned glass with ice. Add the bourbon, St-Germain, and bitters. Stir gently. Garnish with the orange peel twist.

Recipe by St-Germain

BORIS KARLOFF

Serves 1

This is an elderflowery take on a gin fizz.

¾ ounce gin

¾ ounce St-Germain elderflower liqueur

1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice

1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar

1 egg white

1 ounce club soda

Pinch of grated lime zest, for garnish

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper, for garnish

In a shaker, combine the gin, St-Germain, lime juice, sugar, and egg white. Shake well without ice. Then fill the shaker with ice and shake well for another 30 seconds. Strain into an ice-filled Collins glass. Add the club soda and stir. Sprinkle the lime zest and pepper over the top.

Recipe by Todd Thrasher of PX, Restaurant Eve, and the Majestic, Alexandria, Yirginia

Tuaca: Made in Italy, for Americans

Tuaca has much more complexity and potential as a cocktail ingredient than as a shot in a college bar. There are actually several citrus-vanilla liqueurs on the market, including Licor 43 (or Cuarenta y Tres) from Spain and Navan from France, but I like Tuaca best of the bunch. I think Navan (with a cognac base) tastes like Dimetapp, but I enjoy Licor 43 very much. In fact, I often use it interchangeably with Tuaca. Licor 43, like Tuaca, is