Not controversial with me—. especially concerning drinks with Amaros. Simplest example—Averna with Carbonated water vs the same with lemon.

Maybe it takes aeay from the spirit of the drink, but I found adding lemon juice— 1/4 of an average lemon (7.5 cl?) brightens the drink up.

My thoughts exactly.

Several sources make a variant of the Last Word called "The Written Word" that substitutes Cointreau for the maraschino liqueur. I'm like this as I'm not a cherry fan and it's a tasty, albeit quite strong cocktail. I think Cointreau pushed the recipe to be honest.

Also I've concocted a chartreuse accented French 75/Written Word hybrid called "Chai Life" in honor of a neighbor closing on her house. https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/7540/chai-life.