Transcontinental
A herbal and sour gin cocktail ∙ Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 23.7% ABV ∙
The Transcontinental is a gin sour with maraschino, Yellow Chartreuse, crème de violette and lemon juice, shaken and served up in a coupe.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: London dry gin 50 mlMaraschino liqueur 10 mlHerbal liqueur (e.g., Yellow Chartreuse) 5 mlCrème de Violette liqueur 5 mlLemon juice 15 ml
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
- Express a lemon twist over the cocktail and use as garnish
Tips
- Crème de violette (5 ml) and maraschino (10 ml) are both strong enough to bury the gin, so measure them exactly.
History
The Transcontinental is a modern riff on the Last Word, first spotted in 2016 by an enthusiast at Brick Farm Tavern, a farm-to-table restaurant and cocktail bar in Hopewell, New Jersey. He described it as a cross between a Last Word and an Aviation, made with gin, maraschino liqueur, yellow Chartreuse, lemon juice, and a splash of crème de violette. He shared the find on a cocktail-recipe forum's discussion of Last Word variations, where it was later refined into a standardized recipe.
The drink builds on the Last Word, an equal-parts gin, maraschino liqueur, green Chartreuse, and lime juice cocktail generally traced to the Detroit Athletic Club in the 1910s-20s, whose exact creator remains disputed among several claimants. The Transcontinental keeps the gin-maraschino-Chartreuse backbone but swaps lime for lemon, trades green Chartreuse for yellow, and adds crème de violette for a floral, less herbal edge.
FAQ
Can you make a Last Word with yellow Chartreuse?
Yes. A Last Word is traditionally made with green Chartreuse, and yellow Chartreuse gives a softer, sweeter, less herbal version. The Transcontinental goes further: it pairs yellow Chartreuse with gin, maraschino, and lemon, and adds crème de violette for a floral note the Last Word does not have.
