matteo's word

3/4 oz Luxardo Limoncello
3/4 oz Green Chartreuse
3/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino
3/4 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Tuesday before the Fernet Barback Games, I stopped in to visit Josh Childs at Silvertone. Pardon me for going a little out of order here since this was not the first drink I had after getting back from Portland Cocktail Week; however, symbolically, it is the most important. The Matteo's Word, like many other drinks across town, are being put on menus in honor of Seattle's Murray Stenson who has recently fallen ill and requires heart surgery. Paul Clarke at The Cocktail Chronicles has done a good job summing up Murray as a person and a bartender. I have yet to make it out to Seattle and never had the honor of sitting at Murray's bar. But he did impress me when he was nominated at Tales of the Cocktail as bartender of the year, and he chose to stay behind the stick and keep serving his customers rather than receive his award and deserved media attention. Therefore, I know that Murray is in dire need if he is allowing this sort of fund raising and hoop-la to occur.
The drink Silvertone has put on the menu with proceeds going to Murray's medical expenses was created by Matteo Luxardo as a variation of a Last Word. While the Last Word pre-dates Murray's birth, he is known for popularizing the recipe in the modern age. The variation Matteo created swapped the original's gin for limoncello. Indeed, the limoncello's lemon added to the drink's aroma along with the lime juice and herbal notes from the Chartreuse. The lemon-lime sip was followed by a Green Chartreuse and Maraschino swallow. Finally, the limoncello returned on the finish with clean citrus notes.

Ways to help Murray:
1. Donate to MurrayAid.org via Paypal.
2. There is a benefit tomorrow, Sunday November 11th, at J.M. Curley's in Boston from 7-11pm. I have contributed a pair of tiki mug-Drink&Tell book combos to the raffle that will be happening that night. For more 4-1-1, go to the This One For Murray Facebook page.
3. There are benefit drinks around town besides the one at Silvertone. Hawthorne, Brick & Mortar, Citizen, and No. 9 Park have confirmed drinks on the menu, and Trina's Starlite Lounge is in the works. Please leave a comment if I missed a bar or restaurant.
4. Check Twitter #MurrayAid for bartenders working shifts to donate their tips and wages to Murray. So far John Nugent at Silvertone and Scott Holliday at Rendezvous have generously done so.