Forum
First Word
Bittersweet and gin-laced, this is one of the first Last Word riffs to emerge from the Chartreuse shortage in 2022
6th January at 00:45
Dialed back the Luxardo, and wish I’d dialed it back a bit more.
4th May 2024 at 01:05
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.
28th February 2024 at 05:53
Gordon's | Gallo ... tastes odd. smells like citrus, doesn't taste like it.
28th February 2024 at 06:00
made a bacardi special and it tastes weird in the same way, maybe i got bad limes or something
8th January 2024 at 02:59
To see whether it would work from a flavour comparability perspective, we experimented by using Empress Elderflower Rose Gin and were happy with the outcome.
8th January 2024 at 03:15
When we (there were two of us) compared against the original recipe, the original is truer to the taste profile of a Last Word. There’s a subtle, but notable, difference with the gin we used (a bit more layered and interesting, flavour-wise). When the votes were tallied, the Empress variation came out victorious.
14th December 2023 at 15:31
This version is good, but IMHO it lacks body. Any suggestions out there to improve this?
12th January 2024 at 20:39
I personally improved texture on my shaken cocktails by using one big rock and 2/3 ice cubes for the shake (cf Liquid Intelligence by Dave Arnold, of course).
29th May 2023 at 17:10
It's...alright. It's nice. It tastes a lot closer to a last word than I expected but it's in a weird place that it's not as good as a last word (for a tangy, complex gin/chartreuse/herbal cocktail) and it's not as good as a paper plane (for a tangy, complex aperol/fruity/bittersweet cocktail).
1st July 2023 at 01:37
Spot on. I thought about playing with the proportions or swapping ingredients but why bother when those alternatives exist.
That said, it does only require common ingredients so if you don’t have a bottle of nonino or charteuse handy (the latter always a challenge these days) it’s a reasonable alternative.
That said, it does only require common ingredients so if you don’t have a bottle of nonino or charteuse handy (the latter always a challenge these days) it’s a reasonable alternative.
1st May 2023 at 11:24
I learned about the shortage from The Wall Street Journal, which ran the Last Word recipe with it, just as it had done a dozen years earlier. I was able buy a bottle here for HK$498.
The Monks Who Make Chartreuse Don’t Care About Your Fancy Cocktails
Their decision to cap production to focus more on prayer has enthusiasts stockpiling bottles of the French liqueur
The Monks Who Make Chartreuse Don’t Care About Your Fancy Cocktails
Their decision to cap production to focus more on prayer has enthusiasts stockpiling bottles of the French liqueur
1st May 2023 at 06:14
Hadn't heard anything about a shortage down under - but still took some proactive action! A bottle of Yellow and Green on their way. Find it hard to imagine a satisfactory substitute for the real thing.
29th April 2023 at 13:15
There's an Oregon-produced liqueur called "Ver" that is a closer match than Genepy. Slightly more licorice than Chartreuse, but as good a substitute as I've found.
28th April 2023 at 20:29
I liked this but found it a bit out of balance. Maybe it could use a bit of something to add sweetness? Perhaps Lillet Blanc instead of Dolin Dry?
28th April 2023 at 20:13
there is a shortage of Chartreuse??! Mort a ma vie!
28th April 2023 at 17:05
Simon,
I have tried to suggest that liquer makers create a Chartreuse like product. So far, I have not even had a "thank you for your message" response from any of the companies I have contacted. It's an expensive and popular product. I am surprised that the market has not reacted to the Carthusian monks change of business plans. Do you have any insights that you could share?
I have tried to suggest that liquer makers create a Chartreuse like product. So far, I have not even had a "thank you for your message" response from any of the companies I have contacted. It's an expensive and popular product. I am surprised that the market has not reacted to the Carthusian monks change of business plans. Do you have any insights that you could share?
4th May 2024 at 01:01
We're talking about a liqueur with 132 botanicals. That's a lot of secret variables for someone else to try to replicate... Honestly, just trying to come up with the 132 botanicals seems like a Herculean task, let alone figuring out the amounts for each...
28th April 2023 at 20:18
There are some (I think mostly american) companies that have developed products that are meant to mimic chartreuse; I can't remember their names. Maybe Ve-something?
Otherwise I've heard that Dolin Genepy or Strega are reasonable substitutes. I personally stumbled across Boomsma Kloosterbitter and it's a teeny bit less punchy and a little less complex but works wonders for me.
Otherwise I've heard that Dolin Genepy or Strega are reasonable substitutes. I personally stumbled across Boomsma Kloosterbitter and it's a teeny bit less punchy and a little less complex but works wonders for me.
Changed dry for blanco to up the sweetness. I liked it, on my have again list.