Hanky Panky

Gin, sweet vermouth, and Fernet-Branca — Ada Coleman's c. 1925 Savoy creation for Charles Hawtrey, the oldest named cocktail with a documented female creator.

The Hanky Panky was created by Ada Coleman, who served as head bartender at the Savoy Hotel's American Bar in London from 1903 to 1926 — a tenure that made her one of the most celebrated bartenders of the pre-war era and among the first women to hold a senior position in British professional bar culture. Coleman, known affectionately as Coley by the bar's regulars, created the drink around 1925 for the English actor Sir Charles Hawtrey, a celebrated figure in Edwardian and Georgian stage comedy who was known for playing upper-class charming characters with dry wit. Hawtrey asked Coleman for something with a bit of punch — a request she answered with a combination of gin, sweet vermouth, and a dash of Fernet-Branca, the intensely herbal, minty Italian amaro produced by the Fratelli Branca distillery in Milan since 1845. Upon tasting the result, Hawtrey reportedly exclaimed By Jove, that is the real hanky-panky — using a British slang expression meaning something clever, deceptive, or surprisingly effective — and the name adhered. The Hanky Panky is the oldest named cocktail with a specific female creator whose story is thoroughly documented, and Coleman's legacy was formally recognized in the late 20th and early 21st centuries as cocktail history recovered the contributions of female bartenders who had been systematically overlooked.