Hanky panky (cocktail)

Lore & Background

The hanky panky was the brainchild of Ada Coleman (known as "Coley") who began as a bartender at the Savoy Hotel in 1903. Her benefactor was Rupert D'Oyly Carte, a member of the family that first produced Gilbert and Sullivan operas in London and that built the Savoy Hotel. When Rupert became chairman of the Savoy, Ada was given a position at the hotel's American Bar, where she eventually became the head bartender and made cocktails for the likes of Mark Twain, the Prince of Wales, Prince Wilhelm of Sweden, and Sir Charles Hawtrey.

Coleman created the hanky panky for Hawtrey. He was a Victorian and Edwardian actor who mentored Noël Coward. Coleman told the story behind the creation of the hanky panky to England's The People newspaper in 1925: "The late Charles Hawtrey ... was one of the best judges of cocktails that I knew. Some years ago, when he was overworking, he used to come into the bar and say, 'Coley, I am tired. Give me something with a bit of punch in it.' It was for him that I spent hours experimenting until I had invented a new cocktail. The next time he came in, I told him I had a new drink for him. He sipped it, and, draining the glass, he said, 'By Jove! That is the real hanky-panky!', And Hanky-Panky it has been called ever since."

Reader's Guide

The hanky panky is a variation on the sweet martini, inasmuch as it calls for gin and sweet vermouth, but Coley's secret ingredient that made the drink distinctive was Fernet-Branca, a bitter Italian digestivo. A recipe for the cocktail was included in Harry Craddock's The Savoy Cocktail Book. The drink's creation story, as told by Coleman in 1925, highlights its origin as a custom cocktail for an overworked actor seeking something with "a bit of punch." The hanky panky remains a classic example of early 20th-century cocktail innovation from the Savoy Hotel's American Bar, where Coleman served notable figures. Its enduring legacy lies in its balance of sweet and bitter, and its association with one of the first prominent female head bartenders in London.

Did You Know?

• The hanky panky was created by Ada "Coley" Coleman, head bartender at the Savoy Hotel.
• It was invented for actor Sir Charles Hawtrey, who mentored Noël Coward.
• The drink's distinctive ingredient is Fernet-Branca, a bitter Italian digestivo.
• A recipe for the hanky panky appears in Harry Craddock's The Savoy Cocktail Book.

The Birth of a Name

The Hanky Panky owes its very existence to a moment of exhaustion and a bartender's dedication. In the early 1900s, the actor Sir Charles Hawtrey—a Victorian and Edwardian stage performer who would go on to mentor the young Noël Coward—was pushing himself too hard. He would walk into the Savoy Hotel's American Bar and ask his bartender, "Coley, I am tired. Give me something with a bit of punch in it." Ada Coleman, who regarded Hawtrey as one of the finest cocktail judges she had ever met, took that request to heart. She spent hours in the bar experimenting with combinations until she landed on a drink that satisfied his craving. When she finally presented it to him, he took a sip, finished the glass in one go, and declared, "By Jove! That is the real hanky-panky!" The name stuck immediately and has followed the cocktail ever since. Coleman recounted this origin story to England's The People newspaper in 1925, preserving the anecdote for posterity.

Anatomy of the Drink

At its core, the Hanky Panky is a refined twist on the classic sweet martini or Martinez, built on a foundation of dry gin and Italian sweet vermouth. What elevates it beyond a standard gin-and-vermouth pairing is the addition of Fernet-Branca, a sharply bitter Italian digestivo that lends the cocktail its signature complexity. The traditional preparation calls for equal parts—half a measure of vermouth and half a measure of gin—combined in a cocktail shaker over ice, with just two dashes of Fernet-Branca stirred in. The mixture is then strained into a small four-ounce cocktail glass. A final touch of orange peel, squeezed over the surface, releases citrus oils that round out the bitter-sweet profile. The result is a drink that balances the botanical dryness of gin, the richness of sweet vermouth, and the intense herbal bite of Fernet-Branca into a single, punchy sip. It is precisely that dash of Fernet-Branca that Coley identified as her secret, the ingredient that transformed a familiar template into something unmistakably her own.

Coleman and the Savoy

Ada Coleman's rise at the Savoy Hotel is inseparable from the cocktail she made famous there. She first stepped behind the bar in 1903, and her trajectory was shaped by the patronage of Rupert D'Oyly Carte, a scion of the family behind the Gilbert and Sullivan operas and the very builders of the Savoy. When D'Oyly Carte assumed the chairmanship of the hotel, he placed Coleman in the American Bar, a posting that would eventually see her ascend to the role of head bartender. In that capacity, she mixed drinks for a remarkable roster of guests: the American writer Mark Twain, the Prince of Wales, Prince Wilhelm of Sweden, and the actor Sir Charles Hawtrey. The Savoy's American Bar was thus a stage where literature, royalty, and the performing arts converged over a glass of stirred spirits. Coleman's position gave her the creative freedom to experiment, and it was in that environment—serving discerning patrons who expected excellence—that the Hanky Panky was born.

A Place in Cocktail Canon

The Hanky Panky secured its permanent place in the cocktail world through one of the most important references in the field: Harry Craddock's The Savoy Cocktail Book. By including the recipe in that landmark publication, the drink was codified alongside other Savoy classics, ensuring that bartenders far beyond London's American Bar could recreate it with confidence. The book's listing preserved the precise proportions—equal parts gin and sweet vermouth, two dashes of Fernet-Branca, stirred and served in a small glass with an orange-peel garnish—so that the recipe would not drift or be diluted over time. The cocktail's identity as a variation on the sweet martini has helped it find a natural home in menus and mixology discussions, while the Fernet-Branca component distinguishes it from any ordinary gin martini. More than a century after Coleman first stirred it for a tired actor, the Hanky Panky remains a touchstone for those who appreciate how a single bitter digestivo can transform a familiar formula into something memorable.