As the Chartreuse Last Word Twist competition moves across Scotland BarLifeUK can announce the Aberdeen winner as well as the Edinburgh finalists.
It is appropriate that on International Women’s Day (which means that I had to be extra nice to Andy today) we can announce that the Aberdeen winner is the first female winner of the Last Word Twist comp. Massive congratulations to Sian Ferguson from Ninety-Nice Bar & Kitchen with her fantastic The Last Wynd cocktail.
Matthew Dakers, UK Chartreuse Brand Ambassador had this to say about Sian’s win:
“Sian’s drink was effective and simple. The mystery shopper commented that they could have more. It was also Sian’s determination in promoting her drink that we took notice of. Using Facebook to post pictures of happy customers drinking her ‘The Last Wynd’ and getting well known bartenders to give their support showed how passionate Sian was about her creation. Congratulations Sian.” A video of Sian will be right here on BarLifeUK soon but in the meantime to have a look at Sian’s winning recipe click here
The next city getting the green treatment from Chartreuse is Edinburgh and as you can see below the quality of entrants is going to make it one hell of a tough one to win. Good luck to everyone involved and we’re looking forward to trying them on our next trip up.
‘The Third Word’ – Tom Walker, The Saint
- 20ml Islay Scotch (I used Ardbeg; a big peaty number is important here)
- 20ml Green Chartreuse
- 20ml Maraschino
- 20ml lime juice
- 20ml Campari
Shake with ice and double strain into a chilled coupette. No garnish.
‘The idea of the drink comes from a few sources, mainly ‘Pete’s Word’ (which swaps gin for Laphroaig) and ‘Thumbs Up’ by Micky McIlroy of Milk & Honey fame, who simply adds Aperol to an equal-parts Last Word.’
‘There are three reasons behind the name; the fact that the original scotch used – Ardbeg – is one of the ‘big three’ from southern Islay (being from a bar based in Scotland and which prides itself on its whisky collection, I wanted to have a Scottish twist, or at least a scotch backbone to it). Coupled with me being the youngest of three brothers, and, hopefully, the drink becoming the third classic after The Last Word and The Last Ward.’
‘The Sounds of Silence ‘ – James Drummond, Ricks Bar
- 20ml Green Chartreuse
- 20ml Bonded Applejack
- 20ml Creme De Cacao
- 20ml lemon
- 20ml egg white
Dry Shake, Shake, Chocolate Bitters on Top
‘The drink is inspired by the beauty of the equal parts recipe of The Last Word and the chartreuse and chocolate match we did at the training.’
Iron Last Word’ – Pahoki Zoltan, Balmoral Bar
- 25ml Green Chartreuse
- 25ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 25ml Kircsh
- 25ml Gordons gin
- No garnish
‘As Harry Craddock, one of the finest barmen of the 1920, moved away to the Savoy American Bar to practice his profession he came across the recipe of The Last Word and wanted to make it his own. For this he was using Gordons Gin as the most accessible Dry gin of the time which is quiet citrusy and balances the Yellow Chartreuse well.
To this he added lemon juice, again to keep a quite light and refreshing aroma and to balance this with slight sweetness using Kirsch Liquor which was more accessible (although it appears in the Savoy bar book very frequently) than Maraschino and works better with the lighter twist on this classic, all in equal parts.
So The Iron Law was born which is one of the most famous laws of the prohibition stating : “the more intense the law enforcement the more potent the prohibited substance becomes” which in our case is a fantastic drink that you just can’t put down until its finished.’
‘7 Down’ – Megan DeMeulenaere – Bramble
- 35ml Yellow Chartreuse
- 25ml Martin Millers Gin
- 10ml fresh lime juice
- 10ml Blue Curaçao
- Absinthe rinse
‘Okay so the idea for the drink was to make it a bit more fun & interactive for the customer. The idea of the crossword came when we were trying to come up with a name for the drink & playing around with the word ‘word’.
T, my colleague simply said ‘7 down – a combination of letters’ (ie. word). So we created a crossword to be served with the drink. I didn’t want to steer to far from the original recipe’s ingredients. I swapped out a sweet for a sweet, changing the maraschino for blue curacao; and green chartreuse for the yellow chartreuse. An orange zest that is discarded to pair with the curacao, and absinthe rinse added.’
‘Forgotten Word’ – Will Cox, Monteiths
- 25ml Bols Genever
- 25ml Byrrh
- 25ml Green Chartreuse
- 25ml Pink Grapefruit Juice
- Dash Absinthe
‘I chose the ingredients for the ‘Forgotten Word’ by looking at historical ingredients in relation to cocktail culture but also with a French theme. Genever has an important historical link to The Last Word with it being the forefather of new London dry style gin, and is an ingredient until fairly recently forgotten by the new age of bartenders.
The light malt characteristics of Genever pair well with pink grapefruit and as such this was an ideal choice for a citrus replacement for lime. Byrrh aperitif with its deep fruit and strong quinine taste balances out sweetness introduced by the Chartreuse and the blends of spices marry together for a complex long lasting drink.
A dash of absinthe ties all the ingredients together with a light anise finish. The drink is shaken not only to chill and mix but also to introduce air into the drink with enlivens and lightens the mouth feel.’
‘The Forgotten Word’ – Ryan McDonald, Voodoo Rooms
- 20ml Aberlour 10
- 20ml Akashi Siraume
- 20ml Chartreuse Green
- 20ml lemon juice
- 20ml egg white
‘The Forgotten Word came about as a result of my passion of ‘The Last Word’ a prohibition era drink which was practically forgotten until Murray Stenson at Seattle’s ZigZag happened to come across Saucier’s write up, gave it a try, and in 2004 started promoting it to minor celebrity in the cocktail fashion world.
‘The Forgotten Word’ has twisted the boundaries of the core concept behind ‘The Last Word’ without tarnishing the legacy that it has left. Initially the Juniper and botanically driven gin has been replaced with a strong malted whisky in Aberlour 10 which has spiced undertones that accompanies the core components of the Chartreuse and with the inclusion of a full bodied Siraume Rice wine it gives the tipple the dry balance you relate with ‘The Last Word’.
The twist is then finalised with the citrus change to lemon to accommodate the malted notes and an equal proportion of egg white added to highlight each ingredients attributes within the drink. Leaving ‘The Forgotten Word’ ensuring that the drink will not be forgotten once again.’
‘Brave New Word’ – Martin Duffy, 56 North
- 35ml Green Chartreuse
- 15ml Kamm & Sons/Kammerlings
- 25ml Bols Genever
- 25ml grapefruit juice
Good hard shake and served up, garnished with a zest of grapefruit and a rum soaked cherry.
‘I was looking to recreate elements of The Last Word, the slight dryness of the Maraschino replaced by the dry maltiness of Genever for example, whilst bringing a bitter sweetness from the Kamm & Sons.’