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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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!"
Strangely enough this was the first drink that I was taught how to mix. Feels a bit nostalgic for me, and the taste is equally sublime. One of my all time favourites, really looking forward to getting a bottle of chartreuse in my possession and mixing this for friends.
Bird is the Word #2, better, but still don’t love it.
Now the mezcal version… that’s where it’s at. But maybe I just love mezcal too much… is it better than an Avión de Papel with mezcal? The mystery remains unsolved.
I replaced lime juice with red grapefruit juice and it was even better. Optional abit of lime juice on top with simple syrup, while adding tekila in same proportion as added lime juice +simple syrop. Really good
All of Hall of Fame 2/291. I think I prefer the Last of the Oaxacans name but this is the one in the HOF! Really tasty last word riff, though not quite as good as the OG. Still a very solid 4.5/5, but I find the mezcal a little...overbearing.
It's beautiful. Used Montelobos mezcal. I agree that it beats a Last Word, but I couldn't resist dropping in a maraschino cherry as I would have felt like I was missing out otherwise!
What I love about this version is that the ingredients all play so nicely together…until you sit and concentrate and look for one ingredient or another, this cocktail is pure harmony. LOVE IT and agree with the posters before me saying it’s way better than the Last Word itself.
Gosh this one is good. I much prefer this to a regular Last Word! Surprised how well the mezcal integrates with the other ingredients as it can often be quite dominant.
After we tried the Written Word, with Cointreau in place of Luxardo, we applied that switch to the Closing Argument with great success. You still get the lime taste without the “sting” lime juice can have sometimes.
This really is becoming one of my top
five cocktails. I used Dos Hombres mezcal (the one owned by the two Breaking Bad stars - it’s very good). I just love the sour/smoky/herby combination. Fabulous drink. I can’t think that any but the most serious cocktail bars would stock all these ingredients so it’s just as well I do!