This equal parts cocktail is also modeled on the Last Word, but uses yellow Chartreuse, green’s sweeter and mellower cousin. It comes in at 80-proof, versus green’s sharper, nearly minty 110. Barrel-proof Rittenhouse rye is ideal here.
Oh boy, is this one a revelation. Here is a gateway drug for anyone who thinks of themselves as “not a whiskey drinker.” Created by famed bartender Sam Ross in 2008 and named for the MIA song that was inescapable that summer, this drink is a modern classic and a great introduction to the world of Amari, here using Nonino Quintessentia. Buy a bottle – you’ll be glad you did.
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.
