Hanky Panky Cocktail

February 9, 2019 by Jennifer

Valentine’s Day is Thursday and have I got the perfect cocktail for you. I’ve been wanting to make this drink for awhile now, but I didn’t want to post it at just any old time. It’s called the Hanky Panky. I don’t know about you, but whenever I think of hanky panky I think of something naughty going on behind closed doors. Yes, at times I do have a dirty mind, but who doesn’t?

In the past I’ve shared classic cocktails that are a little more innocent like the Angel’s Kiss and the Pink Champagne Cocktail. But this year I wanted to do something that was a little more risqué, a little more naughty, and I couldn’t think of anything better than the Hanky Panky.

Like its name, this cocktail is a little darker than your average drink. Made with gin, sweet vermouth and Fernet-Branca, it’s both bitter and sweet, dark and alluring; a really intriguing cocktail.

Now, I’m not a fan of bitter liqueurs like Campari or Amaro, so I wasn’t overly excited to try this drink. While the Fernet-Branca is just as bitter as those others, it has a more earthy flavor, thanks in no small part to its 27 different herbs and spices, including myrrh, chamomile, cinnamon and saffron. Starting its life as an Italian digestivo in 1845, Fernet is often imbibed as a shot. It’s way too bitter for me to take that way. But mixed into a cocktail, it adds a nice bite.

It was Harry Cradock’s predecessor, Ada “Coley” Coleman of the Savoy Hotel, who decided to mix the bracingly bitter liqueur with gin and sweet vermouth to create this cocktail. She (yes, I said “she”) supposedly did it for English actor, Sir Charles Hawtrey, one night at the beginning of the 20th century when he came into the bar looking for something “with a bit of punch in it”. Upon sipping the tipple, Hawtrey exclaimed “By Jove! That is the real hanky-panky!” and the name stuck.

While the Hanky Panky is really just a sweeter version of the classic martini, it’s the Fernet-Branca that elevates the the drink to a cocktail for those looking for a little more adventure, something “with a bit of punch in it.”