Last Word — four-equal-parts cocktail is mathematically perfect —

This four-equal-parts cocktail is mathematically perfect — and almost impossible to balance.

Ingredients

• 1 oz gin
• 1 oz green Chartreuse
• 1 oz maraschino liqueur
• 1 oz fresh lime juice
• 1 lime wheel
• Garnish: a lime wheel

Method

Grab your shaker and fill it with ice. Add the gin first, then the green Chartreuse. The Chartreuse is the star here — that herbal complexity is what makes this drink special. Pour in the maraschino liqueur and the lime juice. Shake hard for twelve seconds. You want aggressive agitation to marry these four very different flavors. The lime juice needs to integrate completely or the drink falls apart. Double strain into your coupe — no ice. The cocktail should be pale green from the Chartreuse, with a slight haze from the maraschino.

Serve

Serve this up in a coupe with no ice. Float a thin lime wheel on top — it adds aromatics and tells people what they’re about to taste.

Pro Tip

Don’t substitute the green Chartreuse. Yellow Chartreuse is sweeter and won’t provide the herbal backbone this drink needs. The green is essential — it’s the ingredient that transforms four disparate flavors into something greater than the sum of its parts. This is an expensive cocktail to make at home, but it’s worth every penny.