Common Ground Spirits

Common Ground Spirits Blog September 2025

Last Word (Without Chartreuse)

Typically made with equal parts gin, Luxardo liqueur, Green Chartreuse, and lime juice, this cocktail balances the sweetness of the Luxardo with the herbaceous notes in the gin and Chartreuse and a tart punch from fresh lime juice. We rarely mess with a classic, but since Green Chartreuse has been so difficult to source lately, we hunted for a substitute and tweaked the recipe ever so slightly to account for a slightly sweeter liqueur and highlight the flavors in our Gin Recipe 03. Give it a try and let us know what you think!

Last Word (Without Chartreuse)

We adore a Last Word cocktail and have been frustrated for years due to the worldwide Chartreuse shortage. Enter La Gauloise, a slightly sweeter and more yellow-hued liqueur that makes a delicious Last Word approximation. We bumped up the gin to account for the extra sweetness in the Gauloise but, truth be told, we always add more gin to our Last Words. 

Feel free to experiment until you find the balance you prefer!

Ingredients

Serves 1

1 ½ oz Common Ground Spirits Gin Recipe 03 (blood orange and tarragon)

¾ oz La Gauloise liqueur

¾ oz Luxardo liqueur

¾ fresh lime juice

Cocktail cherry for garnish, preferably Luxardo

Make the Hibiscus Simple Syrup

1. Chill a Nick and Nora, martini, or coupe glass with ice water.

Pour out the water in the chilled glass, strain the cocktail into the glass, garnish with one cherry at the bottom of the glass, and serve!

Fill a large cocktail shaker with ice and add all the ingredients except for the cherry garnish and shake well until very cold.