Name: Closing Argument
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 22.5 ml Mezcal; 22.5 ml Chartreuse Green; 22.5 ml Maraschino liqueur; 22.5 ml Lime juice

Closing Argument
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Glass:

Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
³⁄₄ fl oz	Del Maguey Vida Clásico Mezcal
³⁄₄ fl oz	Green Chartreuse (or alternative herbal liqueur)
³⁄₄ fl oz	Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
³⁄₄ fl oz	Lime juice (freshly squeezed)

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Prepare:

Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
Prepare garnish of lime zest twist.

How to make:

SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish:

Express lime zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

A mezcal-based Last Word. It works! End of argument.

View readers' comments

Variations/similar cocktails:

Ultima Palabra, and same recipe as the Last of the Oaxacans but with different garnish.

Also see: 20 best Last Word variations

History:

Last Word history

Nutrition:

One serving of Closing Argument contains 181 calories

Alcohol content:

1.6 standard drinks
23.71% alc./vol. (47.43° proof)
22.9 grams of pure alcohol

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Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Guy Daniels

10th June at 17:41

Wonderful. Used quite a mild Mezcal ( verde amaras) and it balanced with the chartreuse beautifully. Great Last Word variation. By the way, the customer service at the Diffords Shop is amazing. 100% recommend.

Ross Cameron

6th June at 06:29

I just ran out of green so I subbed yellow chartreuse. Throughly enjoyable and still finely balanced. Can’t wait to see how the green adds to the party

trendomexico

30th May at 01:47

Amazing. I came here after the 'The Bird is the Word 1' and even when both are Tequila, the bird is not a Last Word, and this, is THE thing. I noticed in other explorations that Luxardo is bitter at the end, and makes the mezcal more rounded. US mezcal is softer, the same than chiles and salsas -sauces- very spicy for mexicans, very mellow for us citizens. The mezcal and the tequila for american market is oddly sweet and even vanilla taste -literal. For this I went for a mexican mezcal 'Amaras'. I really like Vida Maguey -US- but sometimes I want the hard one.

Mike

11th October 2025 at 09:13

Excellent drink and one where your choice of mezcal greatly influences the final product. I used illegal joven, which is a bit light and citrus forward and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Illegal joven, Luxardo maraschino, green chartreuse.

Egg McKenzie

3rd August 2025 at 16:03

Yes very good why not

Calvin Grant

19th July 2025 at 03:33

Just tried this with Boomsma Cloosterbitter replacing the green Chartreuse; it's a worthy substitute allbeit a much lower a.b.v. End results excellent.

James Harrington

4th May 2025 at 08:29

This seems to be the same as another cocktail which is also on Difford's, a drink called Last Of The Oaxacans. A good drink!

Simon Difford

14th May 2025 at 08:21

Thanks for pointing out, James. I've added a link to the Last of the Oaxacans above.

Loïc Pierre

26th February 2025 at 21:37

Excellent. And easy to remember recipe... Got 5 stars. Another Last Word variation that I really loved is the Yes Dear!, with pisco.

Werd Bmocsil

20th February 2025 at 00:34

Good with tequila, too. Cayéya in my case.

MixoTheClown

28th January 2025 at 05:08

Love the variation, but I hate the name. I’d rather order a "Mezcal Last Word" and have the bartender say, "You mean a 'Closing Argument'?" Then I’d reply, "I hate that name. How can a variation of a two-syllable name turn into such a syllabic nightmare? 'Closing Argument' is pompous fluff, and I will wage a well-balanced war on that name."

The bartender says "I don't get paid enough for this, sir—I didn't name the drink." I’d say "Well, you get paid enough to correct me in front of my wife!"