The original recipe for the Last Word called for equal measures of gin, lime juice, Chartreuse, and maraschino liqueur. In these proportions, most gins tend to get lost behind the other flavors (the cocktail doesn't taste like "a gin drink"). Further, while Chartreuse contributes some sweetness, we also find the overall balance of the original recipe to be aggressively dry. In this build, the proportions are adjusted to allow more of the gin flavor to shone through, and some of the Chartreuse is replaced with simple syrup, which softens the dryness of the lime juice.