1½ ounces dry gin
1½ ounces vermouth
¼ oz Fernet-Branca
Orange twist, for garnish
Fill a mixing glass with ice, and pour in all of your ingredients.
Stir until well chilled and strain into Martini or coupe glass.
Garnish with an orange twist.
The Hanky Panky was invented sometime in the early 1900s by Ada “Coley” Coleman at the world famous American Bar in the Savoy Hotel in London. It was really rare to see women behind the bar back then, but that didn’t stop Coley, who was the head bartender there for over 20 years. She loved creating new recipes, but the Hanky Panky is her most famous creation ever, and it’s still on the menu at the American Bar to this day.
According to Coley, she created the drink for a famous London stage actor Sir Charles Hawtrey. When she retired in 1925, Coley told a newspaper,
“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.”
The Hanky Panky is made with gin, sweet vermouth, and a bit of Fernet, which is a bittersweet herbal Italian Amaro. Fernet is very strong and a bit overwhelming on its own, but used sparingly in this cocktail it adds a wonderful complexity.