a glass

I've been trying, for a while, to come up with a variation on the "last word," which is my favorite cocktail. Attempts have included such disparate - and ultimately discarded - ingredients as rum, brandy, bourbon (this showed promise), and even Malibu's sultry coconut delight. Tonight, however, I feel as though I've finally hit on the winner:

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Synthese:

2 tequila (silver)
1 green chartreuse
1 maraschino (luxardo)
.8 st. germain
~.7 lime juice

Shake until very cold, strain into cocktail glass

Garnish with lime wheel.

Now, I was doing my measuring with a fruit juicer, meaning that only a rough 2 Oz. measurement was available to me. So, this could be slightly off. However, I think it's quite a successful drink, especially considering it all came about as a response to my current lack of gin.

The tequila and lime is a very obvious combination, but both the St. Germain and Maraschino work surprisingly nicely with a base that I really hadn't considered before tonight (I'm not much of a tequila drinker). It's much smoother than the Last Word, which is both a good and bad thing. The tequila gives the drink a sort of velvety smokiness, and although I enjoy the rough edges on the gin, this ends up being a drink that is familiar without tasting like a margarita. There's a definite kick to the combination, and I was pleased to discover that it really wasn't "too summery," which is really all that comes to mind when I think of tequila and lime.

So, I encourage you all to try your own spins on your favorite cocktails, as you never really know when you'll come up with a gem. Do try this one out as well, although you may have to do a bit of experimenting with proportion to nail the taste you're looking for.