This riff on a classic Detroit-borne cocktail is an homage to Quantic Dream’s Detroit: Become Human, keeping to its roots with spice, cherry and citrus, but adding a bright, blue, modern hue to build something new from the bones of the old.
You’ll need:
- 1 oz gin
- 1 oz green Chartreuse
- 1 oz maraschino liqueur
- 1 oz blue curacao
- 1/4 oz lime juice
Method
- Add all ingredient to a shaker halfway filled with ice.
- Shake vigorously for 10 to 15 seconds.
- Strain into a martini glass.
- Garnish with an orange twist (optional)
- Serve!
Fun fact: the Last Word, one of the most famous Prohibition-era cocktails in the world, was invented in Detroit. Alongside the Hummer, it’s a quintessential part of the local bar scene, making it a perfect drink to riff on for the eponymous Detroit: Become Human.
This variation gives a modern flavour (and look) to the classic cocktail. Slightly sweeter than a classic Last Word and certainly a lot less sour too, this drink still manages to keep to its roots with a touch of spice, a touch of citrus and a touch of cherry, all wrapped up in the loving embrace of a dry gin.
Why these ingredients?
One of the defining features of an android in the near-future world of Detroit: Become Human is a little glowing circle located near their temple. When the android is “behaving” and following their programming, it glows a soft, steady blue.
As soon as they bypass their programming, however, they become “deviants”, eventually culminating in the development of complete autonomy and free will—unless the authorities “decommission” them first. This deviancy, in turn, is indicated by a red-orange circle at the temple instead.
Every android has the opportunity to become deviant, either through stressful triggers or through being “convinced” by an existing deviant. The question of whether this deviancy is just a programming error, or the expression of true artificial intelligence, is a major quandary players encounter in the game.
Blue curacao and orange twist
I knew I wanted to capture this idea of deviancy/freedom lurking inside every operational/enslaved android. The blue/red indicators, therefore, were my go-to, and when you need a blue drink there’s nothing easier (and often better) to use than blue curacao.
This citrus ingredient also matched well with a standard Last Word recipe, which is made up of equal parts gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur and lime juice. It was a simple matter of switching the lime juice out for curacao.
Now that there was an orange-based liqueur in the drink, the orange-red of deviancy was an obvious choice: an orange twist. The twist in the orange helped to “express” the oils (i.e. squeeze them out and letting them into the drink), giving it a lovely aroma and kick in the pants for citrus flavour too.
Everything else
As mentioned, the Last Word is a Detroit drink. To keep this drink, like the game, an inherently Detroit experience, I didn’t mess around with the original recipe too much more than switching out the citrus.
I did add a little lime juice back in purely for flavour’s sake: blue curacao tends to be a sweet liqueur, and matched up with the already sweet green Chartreuse, the 1/4 oz of lime juice brought it back into balance flavour-wise.
A quick and easy variation for a classic drink that I’m sure the eventual robotic revolution will raise in toast!
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