- Hanky-Panky cocktail
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name = Hanky Panky
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type = cocktail
flaming =
served =
garnish =
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ingredients = *3 ozVodka
*1 oz limoncello
*Shake. Strain into chilled glass
*Top with champagne
*Garnish with lemon twist
prep =
notes =
footnotes =The Hanky-Panky cocktail was the brainchild of Ada Coleman. Her benefactor was
Rupert D'Oyly Carte , a member of the family that first producedGilbert and Sullivan operas in London and that built theSavoy Hotel . When Rupert became chairman of the Savoy in 1903, Ada was given a position at the hotel'sAmerican Bar , where she eventually became the head bartender and made cocktails for the likes ofMark Twain , the Prince of Wales, Prince Wilhelm of Sweden, and Sir Charles Hawtrey.Charles Hawtrey was the man for whom "Coley", as Ada Coleman was affectionately called, created the Hanky-Panky
cocktail . He was a Victorian and Edwardian actor who mentoredNoel Coward . Coley herself told the story behind the creation of the Hanky-Panky to England's The People newspaper in 1925:"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 a variation on the sweet martini, inasmuch as it calls for gin and sweet vermouth, but Coley's
secret ingredient wasFernet Branca , a bitter Italian digestivo. By adding a couple of dashes of this herbal elixir, she transformed it into a whole new drink.External links
* [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/feature/-/371992/ Gary Regan and Mardee Haidin Regan]
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