There’s a pantheon, folks. A “one before the other” type of progression, each riffing on the previous, that stretches out in a timeline into infinity or when it all comes crashing down. Will travelers from other worlds dig through the cold, dark husk of our dead planet when we finally drain it of all resources and return back to the primordial soup from which we began? Will they select the Death & Co. cocktail book amidst the wreckage and dusty bottles of Rustic Canyon and learn to make a Last Word or will green chartreuse be completely extinct by then? Will they be beneath alcohol, these advanced civilizations, or will they take what they found and bring the golden knowledge back to their home planets only to destroy their entire civilization much like the early settlers of the Americas did to the native peoples living here? Or will they all just be much cooler and watch as they enter their own sort of Jazz Age? I mean, aliens do seem a little stiff. Maybe a couple of drinks and some good vinyl would do them well.

So, let’s get into discussing some cocktail progressions. Here’s an example: Boulevardier–Manhattan–Martinez–Negroni–Martini. Boulevardier: 1.5 parts bourbon, .75 parts aperitif, .75 parts sweet vermouth. Simplify these specs a bit and you have a classic Manhattan: Two parts rye, one part sweet vermouth, dashes of aromatic bitters. Switch the main spirit and the bitters and you have yourself a Martinez: Two parts gin, one part sweet vermouth, dashes of orange bitters. Split base your gin with an aperitif, so there’s no need for bitters, and enjoy a Negroni: One part gin, one part aperitif, one part sweet vermouth. Step back to the Martinez for a moment, then switch out the sweet vermouth for dry and you are now drinking a martini: Two parts gin, one part dry vermouth, dashes of orange bitters.

The above is endless. And yes, there’s more. Today we’ll get into the equal parts cocktail a bit. In the beginning, they were a duo. I speak of the Corpse Reviver #2 and the Last Word. There’s a bit of a discussion on which came first. For so called cocktail historians, there’s the word of mouth version which sort of dissolves over time and the printed version which is usually the one I focus on because there’s a historical record.

So, the Corpse Reviver #2 is equal parts Lillet or Cocchi Americano, gin, lemon juice, and orange liqueur/curaçao whichever you prefer and with an absinthe rinse, and the Last Word? Gin, green chartreuse, maraschino, and lime juice. One person in my research has said the Corpse Reviver #2 is a riff on the Last Word but they only have one ingredient in common really so I don’t think this is the case.

The Corpse Reviver #2 first appeared in print in Harry Craddock’s The Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930. The Last Word came about by way of print in 1951, in a book called, Bottoms Up, by Ted Saucier (great name). But, but, but, you say, there was a word of mouth account in 1916 which was sort of in print on a menu at the Detroit Athletic Club. No known original bartender, however.

Well, I don’t know what to say. It appears the Corpse Reviver #2 has dibs, at least in print. As far as the word of mouth account, the original Corpse Reviver (#1) actually goes way back to 1871 in a tome called The Gentleman’s Table Guide by E. Ricket and C. Thomas. Here’s a cool online version you can flip through, and you should, because there’s some weird shit in there. There’s a ton of cool drinks to pore over (pour over?), Negus anyone? But no account of a #2 anywhere. Anyway, check it out. In the very back there’s lists of mock menus and what to serve with them. Yeah, people ate mostly meat back then in the form of whatever they could get their hands on and drank A LOT. Stewed eels and turtle soup anyone?

So there it is. In print, the Corpse Reviver #2 came first. Sorry. I do have to say it is a more well balanced and enjoyable drink than the Last Word which is not my favorite, but for me, it’s the Last Word riffs that really shine. Let’s go over the progressions.

I hope I get this right. Let’s see. First there was the Last Word, then came the Final Ward, then the Paper Plane, then the Naked and Famous? Yeah, I think so. I blurted this out before actually researching it. But I can actually talk it all out.

Let’s do it.

Like I said before, the Last Word is lime juice, green chartreuse, maraschino, and gin. The Final Ward switches the base spirit and citrus, and so goes, rye, lemon, green chartreuse, maraschino. Then we go Paper Plane by switching a bunch of them in clever ways keeping whiskey but using amaro and Aperol. Bourbon, lemon, Aperol, Nonino. Hmm. Such a good drink. One of the new classic best for sure and can be altered by using a different amaro in place of the Nonino. From here we progress to the Naked and Famous, perhaps my favorite new classic of all time. Replace bourbon with mezcal, go back to chartreuse, except now yellow instead of green and use lime because agave. Boom. Mezcal, lime juice, Aperol, and yellow chartreuse.

Without the Last Word and all the drinks that followed, we wouldn’t have the Naked and Famous. We can also extend a thank you to Mr. Joaquín Simó who came up with this one at the original Death & Co. in New York calling it, “The bastard love child of a Last Word and a Paper Plane conceived in the mountains of Oaxaca.”