Final Ward

Steps

1. 1

   Take your cocktail shaker and measure in 22.5ml rye whiskey, 22.5ml yellow Chartreuse, 22.5ml maraschino liqueur, and 22.5ml fresh lemon juice. Use your jigger for each one — since this is an equal-parts drink, the balance falls apart if you eyeball it.

   

   !Pouring directly from the bottle without measuring, which throws off the equal-parts balance

2. 2

   Fill the shaker about two-thirds full with ice — enough that the ice sits above the liquid line. Use decent-sized cubes if you have them; they melt more slowly and give you better control over dilution.

   

   !Using crushed ice, which waters down the drink too fast during shaking

3. 3

   Seal the shaker and shake hard for about 10 to 12 seconds. You want to hear a solid rattle, not a wimpy slosh. When the outside of the shaker feels frosty and cold enough that you don't want to hold it barehanded, you're done.

   ~11s

   

   !Shaking too gently or too briefly, leaving the drink under-chilled and not properly mixed

4. 4

   Pop the shaker open and pour the drink through your Hawthorne strainer into your chilled coupe glass. If you have a fine mesh strainer, hold it over the glass and pour through both strainers at once — this catches the tiny ice shards and citrus bits so the drink looks clean, not cloudy.

   

   !Forgetting the fine strainer and ending up with floating ice chips in the glass

5. 5

   Take your lemon twist and hold it over the drink, yellow side down. Give it a quick pinch and twist so the citrus oils spray across the surface of the drink — you'll see a fine mist if you're doing it right. Drop the twist into the glass or rest it on the rim.

   

   !Dropping the twist in without twisting it first, which skips the aromatic oil that makes the garnish matter