californie palace

1/3 Gin (2/3 oz Bombay Dry)
2/3 Dry Vermouth (1 1/3 oz Noilly Prat)
1/3 Maraschino (2/3 oz Luxardo)
1/6 Green Chartreuse (1/3 oz)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a small chunk of pineapple (omitted).

Last Friday when it was time for cocktails, I returned to Ted Saucier's Bottom's Up to try another Last Word-like drink. The one I chose was the signature drink at the Californie Palace in Cannes, France, and it was in essence the straight spirits, non-equal parts version of a Last Word. The two references I found on the web for this hotel were in the 1930's but Saucier offered up no time line for the drink itself. Instead of lime juice, the drying force in the Californie Palace was French vermouth and the large quantity of it made it into an aperitif-like cocktail.
For me, the Maraschino stood out most on the nose, but for Andrea, it was the Chartreuse. While the drink was just as dry as the Last Word, it was not as sharp due to the lack of citrus and the decreased proportion of green Chartreuse. I regretted not having fresh pineapple on hand, for the recommended garnish would work probably well with the ingredients in the drink; another recipe for the Californie Palace that I spotted elsewhere called for a lime twist which would add an interesting hint of citrus to the drink.