refined speech (variant)

3/4 oz Old Overholt Rye (*)
3/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
3/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe.
(*) The regular Refined Speech has gin (note added 7/4/23).

On Tuesday, I was at a networking event near the aquarium, so I met up with Andrea afterwards at Drink. We had been wanting to go there on a Tuesday since we had heard that Josey Packard often works then and we had never had the chance to be served by her. I was rather surprised at how crowded Drink can be on a Tuesday especially after getting spoiled on Sunday nights. I found a single open seat, luckily at Josey's station, and ordered a drink while waiting for Andrea to show up. I asked Josey for a rye and bitters cocktail and after she recommended a few drinks like a Vieux Carre, I specified the bitters to Chartreuse. Immediately, Josey recommended the Refined Speech which is a variation of the Last Word cocktail. While the Last Word is equal parts gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino, and lemon, the Refined Speech variant she made me used a different base spirit, rye, similar to the Final Ward and with yellow instead of green Chartreuse, and lemon instead of lime. I believe that the Refined Speech is a gin and green Chartreuse drink with non-equal part proportions as DrinkDogma reports (1 1/2 oz gin, 3/4 oz green Chartreuse, 3/4 oz Maraschino liqueur, 1/2 oz lemon juice); however, the variation and the fact that I had never had the combination made it a great suggestion.

Derivations and variations aside, the drink had a very nice balance even more so than a Last Word. Indeed, the lemon juice and yellow Chartreuse proved to be a more gentle combination than the Last Word's lime juice and green Chartreuse. Perhaps this gentleness allowed for the Maraschino liqueur to weigh in more than it does in a Last Word. The Refined Speech was complex enough to be interesting without being difficult at all to drink. I am curious to try the gin recipe sometime to see how the base spirit choice plays into the mix.