Markets are closed, I did a big shop this morning, and I got a workout in. Seems like a fun afternoon to do a tour of Last Word riffs.

What’s a Last Word? One of the classic cocktails. I was introduced to it by @Nonrelatedsense. May he Rest In Peace.

A classic Last Word is 3/4 oz each Luxardo, green Chartreuse, lime juice, dry gin. We can start there.

Notes: you want to absolutely shake the hell out of this thing for no longer than 10 seconds. Make sure you double strain and consume within about 4 minutes of pouring.

Our second stop will be at the airport. The Paper Plane is a Last Word riff that features bourbon, Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and lemon juice. Widely known as the drink of choice for @VegaVandal.

With this in hand it’s worth talking about what we say when we use the word “riff”. The basic idea is to retain some of the character of the original by swapping all the pieces around. So: gin/bourbon, lime/lemon, Luxardo/Aperol, Chartreuse/Nonino.

Gin and bourbon are wildly different bases so the sweet maraschino needs to be exchanged for a duller orange (Aperol). Similarly, intensely herbaceous and acid-loving green chartreuse gets swapped for lighter and accessible Nonino (which is a very easy drinking Amaro).

A final technical note before I pause for more laundry folding: I went with the high value/price ratio Old Grandad but the world of bourbon is extremely diverse. I’m a cocktail guy, not a whiskey guy, but this thread was awesome. https://twitter.com/tenyearnote/status/1246538365089902594?s=21 https://twitter.com/tenyearnote/status/1246538365089902594