Cocktail Daily – Hanky Panky I American Bar, London

Set inside The Savoy, the American Bar is more than simply one of London’s historic hotel bars. It is a place where the evolution of modern cocktail culture can still be traced directly through the people who worked behind its counter.

Opened in 1893, the American Bar is widely regarded as London’s longest-surviving cocktail bar. Over the decades, some of the most influential bartenders in cocktail history have worked here, including Ada Coleman, Harry Craddock and Joe Gilmore. Craddock would later compile The Savoy Cocktail Book, published in 1930 and still considered one of the defining references of classic cocktail culture.

Its importance is not limited to history. In 2017, the American Bar was named No.1 in The World’s 50 Best Bars, followed by World’s Best Bar at the Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards in 2018. For a bar whose story began in the nineteenth century, what makes the American Bar particularly significant is its ability to remain part of contemporary cocktail culture rather than simply becoming a historical landmark.

And if there is one drink that captures that legacy particularly well, it is the Hanky Panky.

Hanky Panky

Cygnet 22 Welsh Dry Gin / Cocchi Storico Vermouth di Torino / Cocchi Dopo Teatro Vermouth Amaro / Cocchi Barolo Chinato / Fernet-Branca

The story of the Hanky Panky begins with Ada “Coley” Coleman.

Coleman began her bartending career at Claridge’s in 1899, where the first cocktail she learned to make was a Manhattan. In 1903, she moved to The Savoy and became the first female Head Bartender of the American Bar, remaining in the role for roughly 23 years.

At a time when professional bartending was still overwhelmingly dominated by men, Coleman’s position at one of London’s most prestigious hotel bars made her an exceptional figure. Today, she is remembered as one of the most important women in cocktail history.

The Hanky Panky was created during her years at the American Bar.

According to the best-known account, British actor Charles Hawtrey, a regular guest, arrived at the bar exhausted from work and asked Coleman to make him “something with a bit of punch in it.” She responded with a combination of gin, sweet vermouth and a small amount of Fernet-Branca, finished with orange peel.

After tasting it, Hawtrey reportedly exclaimed, “By Jove! That is the real hanky-panky!” The expression eventually became the cocktail’s name.

The drink was later recorded by Harry Craddock in the 1930 edition of The Savoy Cocktail Book. The original structure was remarkably simple: equal parts dry gin and Italian vermouth, two dashes of Fernet-Branca, and orange peel.

With only three main components, the drink created a distinctive balance between gin, spice, bitterness, sweetness and dark herbal character. What began as a bespoke drink at the American Bar eventually became one of the enduring classics of the cocktail canon.

The Hanky Panky currently served at the American Bar, however, is not simply a reproduction of that original three-ingredient formula.

The Cocchi x Savoy Hanky Panky retains Cygnet 22 Gin and Fernet-Branca, while expanding the vermouth component across three different Cocchi expressions: Storico Vermouth di Torino, Dopo Teatro Vermouth Amaro and Barolo Chinato.

The idea is not to abandon the structure of the original Hanky Panky, but to broaden what was once concentrated within a single sweet vermouth. Dopo Teatro adds structure and darker bitter-sweet notes, Storico brings spice and candied citrus character, while Barolo Chinato introduces another layer of depth and vinous complexity.

That expanded vermouth structure was also what stood out most to me when drinking the cocktail at the American Bar.

This is not a drink where you have to search for the flavours.

The spice and herbal character of the vermouths are immediately pronounced, yet despite the presence of three different Cocchi expressions, the gin never disappears beneath them. Cygnet 22 still provides a substantial backbone, giving the cocktail a firm, full-bodied alcoholic structure rather than allowing it to become entirely dominated by aromatised wine.

With each sip, the gin, vermouth spice, bitterness, sweetness, Barolo Chinato and the dark herbal character of Fernet-Branca seem to open up almost simultaneously. It is less a progression of individual flavours and more an immediate burst of the entire composition, followed by a slow, extended development across the palate.

And that sense of duration is what ultimately made this Hanky Panky so memorable.

Tasting Notes

Aroma:
Dry botanical notes from the gin meet layered spice, orange peel and darker herbal bitterness. The aroma feels deep and concentrated rather than bright or delicate.

Palate:
The vermouth-driven spice is immediately prominent, but the three Cocchi expressions never overwhelm the gin. The gin remains full-bodied and structurally present, while spice, bitterness, sweetness and herbal notes seem to expand across the palate at the same time.

Finish:
Exceptionally long. Spice, herbal bitterness and the warmth of the gin continue well after each sip. The most intuitive way I can describe it is that every sip seems to “fly” in the mouth for a long time. By the time you are ready for the next one, the previous sip has barely finished.

Overall:
A Hanky Panky built around multiple assertive flavours, yet remarkably coherent and explosive in its delivery. Its strength is not simply intensity, but the way every component retains its identity while contributing to an unusually persistent finish.

More than a century after Ada Coleman first created the drink at the American Bar, this contemporary version shows how a historic cocktail can be expanded without losing the character that made it a classic in the first place.

American Bar, The Savoy
London / Strand
Strand, London WC2R 0EZ, United Kingdom
London’s longest-surviving cocktail bar and the birthplace of the Hanky Panky.

This article and video are intended for informational and editorial purposes only. All brands, trademarks and product names mentioned remain the property of their respective owners. No endorsement or affiliation is implied. Please drink responsibly.