The Penicillin cocktail was created in 2005 by Australian bartender Sam Ross at the legendary bar Milk & Honey in NYC. A modern riff on the classic Whiskey Sour and Gold Rush that went on to become a modern classic. Designed as a modern riff on the classic Whiskey Sour and the Gold Rush, it became a rare “modern classic”. Its name honors the life-saving antibiotic, playing on the idea that its soothing, medicinal ingredients act as a cure-all.
In 2009, Matthew Hupert (online as Chowhound user Thew) built an early variation of the Last Word by swapping out the herbal Green Chartreuse for Aperol and adjusting the citrus to lemon. Dan Chadwick later named it the “Penultimate Word” as a play on its famous predecessor.
Pete’s Word is another of many equal-parts cocktails. This was created by Phil Ward around 2008 while he was working at Death & Co. in NYC. Based on the Last Word, here he swaps in smoky peated scotch, nutty Luxardo and lime. Not the first thing you think would otherwise work with smoky scotch, here – it just works.
