If you want to taste history tonight, I've already prepared the complete shopping list with all the ingredients. Now, the legend.
The Hanky Panky was created by Ada "Coley" Coleman between 1903 and 1925 at the legendary American Bar of the Savoy Hotel in London. Coleman, one of the first women to run a world-class hotel bar, invented the drink for the actor Sir Charles Hawtrey, who asked her for "something with a bit of punch." When he tasted it, he allegedly exclaimed: "By Jove, Coley, that is the real hanky-panky!", 1920s slang for "devilish mischief."
The recipe, a Martinez with Fernet-Branca, was one of the first documented uses of the Italian bitter digestivo in a cocktail. Ada Coleman is considered the first great woman of modern bartending, and the Hanky Panky remains her living monument: a sharp, deep cocktail, designed to surprise, like its inventor.
Passion for cocktails is also an equipment affair. A well-chosen barman kit like this one on Amazon is perfect for starting out without compromising on quality. And for those with a real bartender's soul, a professional cocktail bar station is the piece of furniture that finally makes entertaining at home a well-oiled ritual.