Name: First Word
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 37.5 ml Gin; 22.5 ml Maraschino liqueur; 22.5 ml Dry vermouth; 22.5 ml Lime juice; 15 ml Orange-red aperitivo

Ingredients

1 ¹⁄₄ fl oz

Hayman's London Dry Gin

³⁄₄ fl oz

Luxardo Maraschino liqueur

³⁄₄ fl oz

Strucchi Dry Vermouth

³⁄₄ fl oz

Lime juice (freshly squeezed)

¹⁄₂ fl oz

Bittersweet orange-red aperitivo

How to make

Glass

Prepare

Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.

Prepare garnish of lime zest twist and Luxardo Maraschino Cherry.

Method

SHAKE all ingredients with ice.

FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish

Express lime zest twist over cocktail and discard.

Garnish with skewered cherry.

Flavour Profile

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

Health & Nutrition

Nutrition:

One serving of First Word contains 199 calories

Alcohol content:

1.6 standard drinks
17.37% alc./vol. (34.74° proof)
22.4 grams of pure alcohol

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Dry vermouth — Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Comments & Discussion

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trendomexico Premium Member 6w

It take with the tip the tonsils of the naked & famous. But is very different since the gin and the vermouth bring a new sensation. So if this a first word 'A' we can have other vocals unto the 'Last
Word' in a vocabulary of spirits from here to the A-bsolut, the B-acardi, the C-ynar. Each coming into the march of the last words... I really like it for this moment, never coming back but cute today.

Caspian Berggren Premium Member 34w

Is it a Last Word riff? That's a question for someone smarter to answer. The maraschino is forward (as it so often is) which, with the Aperol and vermouth, makes it almost taste of chili sans the spiciness. Not complaining, it's certainly serviceable, but it left me thinking if it wouldn't be better with some dashes of Hellfire Shrub...

Caitlin Eisner Premium Member 40w

I tried this with a dash of Peychaud's, which really helped to round it out.

Joseph Nelson Premium Member 41w

I think a lot of people get hung up comparing this directly to a Last Word, because they taste very different (obviously). I found this to be an appealing, tart cocktail with a strong personality. It's going into my regular rotation for sure.

Calvin Grant Premium Member 41w

Saw your comment (again) and had to revisit. Still five stars! Maraska worked just as well as Luxardo for the maraschino and I used Edinburg Gin's Seaside, Dolin dry and Aperol this time.
Looking for a bottle of Luxardo Aperitivo. What, if I might ask did you use?

Joseph Nelson Premium Member 40w

I used Beefeater gin, Luxardo Apervito, Tribuno Extra Dry, and my recent acquisition, Lazzaroni Maraschino, which I greatly prefer over the Luxardo Maraschino. It's just such a softer, more mellow taste I find. I haven't tried Maraska yet, but I ought to.

Calvin Grant Continue thread (1 reply)

Calvin Grant Premium Member 50w

LET THERE BE LIGHT... cocktails...ha ha ha. This one's a bit lighter than the equal parts Last Word. Excellent balance, suprisingly similar (considering the ingredients), and good to the last drop. (Let it warm up...brings out the flavor!)

Matt Premium Member 1y

An excellent cocktail - IMO it falls short of a Last Word, but it is a delicious variant to have if you are out of your favorite green liqueur. And, given the name, it might be fun to have one of these, and follow with a Last Word, and compare and contrast the cocktails and the impact of the substitutes. The heavy pour of gin here does leave you with more prominent gin notes than an equal parts Last Word.

Juan Hatton 1y

No apertivo, subbed with 10ml Campari.
Changed dry for blanco to up the sweetness. I liked it, on my have again list.

Aidan O’Shea 1y

Dialed back the Luxardo, and wish I’d dialed it back a bit more.

Peter M Premium Member 2y

Made this with Beefeater, Luxardo Maraschino, Dolin Dry, & Aperol. Very tasty! I got notes from the gin, spice/flavor of the maraschino liqueur, sweetness and herbal notes from the vermouth, orange-bitter from the Aperol, and of course lime. All well-balanced for my palate! Disappeared quickly. Definitely going to the top of my favorites.

Calvin Grant Premium Member 50w

I used these ingredients as well. The dry vermouth plus Aperol replaces the Chartreuse (same volume as the gin) and the reduced volume of the maraschino and lime complement them perfectly. Brilliant!

Yorey C 2y

Gordon's | Gallo ... tastes odd. smells like citrus, doesn't taste like it.

Yorey C 2y

made a bacardi special and it tastes weird in the same way, maybe i got bad limes or something

Toby James Premium Member 2y

I had a similar experience recently when anything featuring lemon juice had a pronounced sulphuric smell and taste, like rotten eggs. All from freshly squeezed organic lemons from several different batches over a long time, all smelled great... until they were juice. Now I'm 95% sure it was long covid. Happily it was the only real symptom, and it cleared up eventually, but it was a rather odd few months. Seems to be a not uncommon reaction.