Hanky Panky

The Hanky Panky is a legendary cocktail created by Ada Coleman, head bartender at the Savoy Hotel's American Bar in London during the early 1900s. Coleman crafted this drink for the actor Sir Charles Hawtrey, who upon tasting it exclaimed "By Jove! That is the real hanky-panky!" The name stuck, and the cocktail became one of the most celebrated drinks to emerge from the golden age of cocktails. What sets the Hanky Panky apart is its use of Fernet-Branca, an intensely bitter Italian amaro that adds a complex herbal backbone to the sweet vermouth and gin base. The result is a perfectly balanced cocktail that's bitter, sweet, and herbaceous all at once. It's often described as a "bartender's handshake" - a drink that signals sophistication and knowledge of cocktail history. The Hanky Panky helped establish the template for gin-vermouth-modifier cocktails and remains a favorite among craft cocktail enthusiasts. Its revival in recent years has introduced a new generation to Ada Coleman's genius and the important role women have played in cocktail history.