We like to think of our previous post as a kind of stand-in for the Aperol Spritz, a cocktail recipe that we barely described over a decade past, and later only formally wrote about in the context of bottling carbonated cocktails. And yet, the Spritz is the quintessential Aperol drink and it’s what you think of anytime someone says the word. So, when Imbibe Magazine published their July/August issue featuring “Summer Spritzes” we were pretty excited to check out some other ideas. One recipe in particular that caught our eye was the Last Spritz, a highball riff on an all-time favorite.

This simplified version of the venerable Last Word cocktail transforms into a spritz by swapping out the gin for sparkling water. Reading the recipe, which is credited to Danny Webber of the Capri Club in Los Angeles, had us wondering if it would just be a diluted version of one of the best cocktails ever. Could this really work? It is still essentially an “equals” drink minus one ingredient and elongated with bubbles over ice. With only one way to find out, we mixed a pair of these, pouring our precious Chartreuse with skepticism.

The Last Spritz by Danny Webber
1 oz maraschino liqueur (Luxardo)
1 oz lime juice
1 oz Green Chartreuse
Soda water to top

Add the first three ingredients to an ice-filled Collins glass, then top with soda water. Garnish with a cocktail cherry.

This brings up an important point—Chartreuse has been notoriously difficult to obtain for a while now with the French monks who make it publicly declaring they intend on keeping production constant while demand continues to outpace supply. You can still find bottles on an irregular basis depending on where you live and when you look, but you can make this drink with other herbal substitutes. We suggest Ver by Elixir Craft Spirits, (our pick for a very close Yellow Chartreuse sub), Faccia Brutto Centerbe (on its own or mix this 50/50 with Ver for an almost perfect Green substitute), Génépy, or Centum Herbis which we have not tried. Any of these will yield delicious results in a Last Word variation and should work here too.

So, how does it taste? Actually, it’s fantastic! The Last Spritz does exactly what it should—it transforms a familiar cocktail into a summer refresher. It has a lower ABV without tasting diluted, and we shouldn’t be surprised at this. The original drink is shaken with ice which typically adds 20% water dilution while it chills. Here, we have soda water which brings a little bite from the carbonation. The fact that we are missing gin isn’t hurting anything given the already intense herbal flavors of the liqueurs. In fact, maybe we are detecting a little more from our Chartreuse and Luxardo.

Fresh lime juice is a given (do we have to keep mentioning that these days?) though more often than not we use Superjuice which is better than fresh for several reasons. The cocktail cherry is our simplified brandied cherry which has become our standard over the years. Give this one a try and let us know what you think. Cheers, and stay cool!