First Word
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 20.6% ABV ∙
The First Word is a shaken riff on the Last Word, swapping in dry vermouth and an aperitivo alongside gin, maraschino, and lime. Tart lime hits first, then cherry-almond sweetness from the maraschino settles into a bittersweet, faintly herbal finish that lingers dry.
Ingredients
1
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
- Shake hard for a full 12-15 seconds with cubed ice; the maraschino and the aperitivo make this a sweet mix that needs real dilution to balance its acidity.
- Measure lime juice fresh right before shaking; pre-juiced lime oxidizes quickly and flattens the tartness that offsets the maraschino liqueur.
- Double strain through a fine mesh into the chilled coupe to catch ice shards and any lime pulp, keeping the surface glossy and clear.
- Express the lime twist over the drink and discard the peel, then add the maraschino cherry last so its color doesn't bleed into the pale liquid.
History
The First Word is a variation on the Last Word, a gin cocktail documented at the Detroit Athletic Club in Detroit, Michigan, where club records show it on the menu by 1916, shortly before Prohibition. Its inventor is unknown, though Ted Saucier's 1951 book Bottoms Up credited vaudeville performer Frank Fogarty with carrying the recipe to New York after visiting the club, a claim later research complicated since the drink appears to predate his visit; some accounts also place its creation as late as the early 1920s. Forgotten after World War II, the Last Word was revived in 2003 when Seattle bartender Murray Stenson found the old recipe and put it on the menu at the Zig Zag Café, which set off its spread through the modern craft cocktail movement and a wave of named riffs on its equal-parts formula. The First Word emerged from that riffing tradition, specifically from the green Chartreuse shortage that hit bars in 2022, replacing the Chartreuse with dry vermouth and a red Italian aperitivo.
