The Last Punch Recipe: A Tequila Last Word for a Crowd

Ingredients

8½ oz gold tequila or a 100 percent agave reposadoe.g. Jose Cuervo · Sierra · Olmeca · Sauza
8½ oz green ChartreuseBuy on Amazon →
8½ oz maraschino liqueure.g. Luxardo · Maraska · Lazzaroni
8½ oz lime juice freshly squeezed
8½ oz soda water well chilled, added just before serving
8 slice lime wheels for garnish
8 maraschino cherries for garnish

Garnish: Lime wheels and maraschino cherries · Ice: One large cube

Method

Chill all ingredients for several hours.
Pour tequila, green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur and lime juice into a punch bowl and stir well.
Add one large block of ice or several large cubes.
Just before serving, top with the soda water and stir gently.
Garnish with lime wheels and maraschino cherries and serve in small punch cups.

Watch it made

The Last Punch

Taste

Herbal and intense with Chartreuse's alpine spice, cherry-almond notes from the maraschino, peppery agave and sharp lime, softened by the soda. Strong for a punch.

History and origin

The Last Punch takes the Last Word, a pre-Prohibition equal-parts classic of gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino and lime, and turns it into a punch for a crowd. Tequila replaces the gin, and soda water lengthens the mix so it can be served over ice from a bowl. It is a modern party recipe without a documented author.

Punch itself is far older than the cocktail. English sailors and merchants of the East India Company encountered it in the seventeenth century, and it became the social drink of Britain and its colonies long before single-serve cocktails existed. The word is often said to come from the Hindi panch, five, after the number of ingredients, though that etymology is not certain.

The classic punch structure of spirit, citrus, sweetness and dilution is exactly what the Last Word already offers, which makes it a natural fit for the bowl.

Bartender tips

A single large block of ice melts slowly and keeps the punch from turning watery; freeze water in a bowl or loaf tin the day before.
Squeeze the lime juice no more than a few hours ahead for the freshest taste.
Serve in small cups of about 100 ml: the punch is much stronger than it tastes.

Variations

Last Word: The single-serve original: 22.5 ml each of gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino and lime, shaken and served in a coupe.
Last Punch with gin: Use gin instead of tequila for a punch that stays closer to the classic Last Word.