It's warm and a little bit muggy in D.C. tonight. But the rest of the week will be cool.

Cocktail-wise, this is difficult weather. You don't quite want to go full tiki (save that for a week when it's 90).

You could make a daiquiri, sure, but then what would you do in May?

What you want on a night like this is an underappreciated category of cocktail: the gin sour.

This might mean a gimlet. Or it might mean an Army & Navy, if you have orgeat on hand. But probably it means a Last Word.

A Last Word is the perfect drink for a spring day that can't quite decide what to do with itself. It's bright enough for warm weather, but tempered by the earthy, herbal favors of Chartreuse. It's fresh and floral, but not quite summery.

Traditionally, a Last Word is made with equal parts dry gin, Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur, and lime juice.

I have no qualms with tradition. But it can be improved upon.

The main innovations I recommend are:

1) Slightly increase the amount of gin relative to everything else: so an ounce of gin, and 3/4 ounce of all the other ingredients.

2) Split the lime juice with a bit of lemon juice. This makes for a brighter, slightly more complex drink.

Finally, if you're the sort of person who likes classic drinks but with Mezcal - and there is, to be clear, nothing wrong with this preference - a Mezcal Last Word, with Mezcal (Vida, Silencio, Illegal) subbed in for the gin, is one of my favorite simple variations.

In conclusion, before making yourself a drink, always check the weather.