First Word

Name: First Word
Prep time: 3 min
Total time: 3 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: London dry gin — 30 ml (1 oz); Maraschino liqueur — 20 ml (2/3 oz); Dry vermouth — 20 ml (2/3 oz); Lime juice — 20 ml (2/3 oz); Aperitivo — 15 ml (1/2 oz)

Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 17% ABV ∙

The First Word is a shaken riff on the Last Word, swapping in dry vermouth and an aperitivo alongside gin, maraschino, and lime.

Ingredients

Servings

Garnish

Instructions for 1 serving

Pre-chill a glass
Shake all ingredients with ice: London dry gin 30 mlMaraschino liqueur 20 mlDry vermouth 20 mlLime juice 20 mlAperitivo 15 ml
Fine strain into the chilled glass
Express a lime twist over the cocktail and discard
Garnish with a maraschino cherry on a skewer

Tips

Give it a hard 12-15 second shake with cubed ice so it comes out properly cold and diluted.
Squeeze the lime right before you shake; juice that sits around loses the fresh aroma that cuts through the maraschino.

History

The First Word replaces the green Chartreuse of the Last Word with dry vermouth and a red Italian aperitivo. It came out of the green Chartreuse shortage that hit bars in 2022.

The Last Word is a gin cocktail documented at the Detroit Athletic Club in Detroit, Michigan, by 1916. Forgotten after World War II, it was revived in 2003 when Seattle bartender Murray Stenson put it on the menu at the Zig Zag Café, setting off a wave of named riffs on its equal-parts formula.