Ada Coleman's classic cocktail, the Hanky Panky, was invented when Sir Charles Hawtree visited the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel and asked her to make something “with a bit of punch in it.” Ada's answer to that challenge was a sublime cocktail of her own creation, which elicited perhaps the most wonderful exclamation by any human ever from Hawtree - "By Jove! That is the real hanky panky!"
The Handmade Cocktail Company's Hanky Panky cocktail features fantastic English dry gin, sweet vermouth and the unmistakable Fernet Branca.
The concept of the ‘Vintage Cocktail’ range is simple – you get all the ingredients for a superb cocktail pre-mixed, all you have to do is pour it over ice, stir, then strain off into your glass and garnish (in this instance with a healthy slice of fresh orange). Each bottle carries a stamp showing its year of manufacture.
Sweet, strangely malty aroma with a predominance of Morello cherries and mixed spices, particularly ground mace. Inviting and intensely aromatic.
Oily, with notes of olives in brine, sweet cherry tomatoes and plum wine. A hint of peach develops, alongside notes of white wine and parsley.
Hints of Black Jack sweets on the finish, with notes of Oude Genever and saffron.
A curious and complex cocktail - certainly a very fine alternative to the classic Negroni.
