The Last Word is far from the final statement on 4-ingredient cocktails, but it could be one of my favorites. Originally the Prohibition-era signature drink of the Detroit Athletic Club, the recipe was published in the 1950s but didn’t become part of the cocktail revolution until just this side of the turn of the century when it was rediscovered by bartender Murray Stenson in Seattle in 2004. It was almost lost to obscurity until it was rescued in the mid-aughts by a Seattle bartender. It’s amazing how differently these variations taste, with huge swings in flavor profile but barely different ingredients. The possibilities here are endless, and serve as the ideal template for further experimentation. One variant, The Paper Plane made up of equal parts bourbon, Amaro Nonino Quintessentia, and lemon, is one of my absolute favorites.
Fashioned Named for the Mexican state from where many of the smokiest of mezcals hail, this drink mixes reposado tequila, which is lightly aged in oak, with the super-smoky flavors of mezcal. For a smoke-phobic drinker like myself, I’ve reduced the mezcal to a 3:1 ratio with the tequila base, creating a gateway into the world of smoky agave spirits.
