Hanky Panky Recipe

Thank god for Prohibition.

Before the Big Thirst got underway in 1920, the barroom was for the most part a masculine place. Women were banned from many drinking establishments—either by law, by house rules, or by social standards—and it wasn't until the 1920s, when the owners of then-illegal watering holes were less picky about who they let through the door, that a female presence started to become a somewhat regular occurrence in bars across the country.

As Eric Felten noted in "Women Behind Bars" for the Wall Street Journal, it took another couple of decades before women moved to the other side of the bar in any kinds of numbers. Felten writes that in 1895, the Labor Department calculated there were 55,660 men working as bartenders in the U.S., compared to only 147 women. It wasn't until the Second World War that American bars started using more female bartenders. Even then, laws and labor rules were designed to limit women's presence behind the bar, and Felten writes that as recently as 1971 California had a law prohibiting women from "pouring whisky." Take a look at the names behind today's cocktail renaissance, and they're still overwhelmingly male—though a number of talented female bartenders are shifting the balance.

Take a look at the names behind today's cocktail renaissance, and they're still overwhelmingly male—though a number of talented female bartenders are shifting the balance. Felten notes some of the most prominent figures in New York's cocktail culture are women, such as Julie Reiner of Clover Club and Leyenda. In Boston, Misty Kalkofen and Josie Packard made a name for themselves as part of the team of creative bartenders at Drink (which closed in February 2024); in Seattle, the craft-cocktail establishment Rob Roy features Anu Apte working behind the bar; and in San Francisco, Brooke Arthur, formerly of Range, and Jacquelyn Patterson and Jennifer Colliau, formerly of Heaven's Dog, were among the bartenders who placed that city on the cocktail map.

These are just a few of the women who have changed the cocktail scene, and have, in the process, helped close the gender divide on the busy side of the bar.

The Hanky Panky originated at the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in London in the early 20th century. Developed by head bartender Ada Coleman, the Hanky Panky matches the distinctive character of Fernet Branca with the botanicals found in gin and sweet vermouth to create a rich blend of flavors—a blend that lets the pushy liqueur remind you of its better side.

Let's talk about that bitter Italian liqueur, a beneficent bully. Formulated as a digestivo in the mid-19th century, Fernet Branca has a blend of botanicals, including cardamom, chamomile, saffron, and rhubarb, that together work some sort of gastronomic magic to dispel the discomfort of overindulging at mealtime. And the bully part? This same mix of ingredients has a flavor so bracingly bitter and complex that a first encounter is usually seared into a drinker's memory.

This powerful flavor makes Fernet Branca tricky to work with as a cocktail ingredient. Not content to play a supporting role, Fernet Branca has a knack for taking over any drink that incorporates it as an ingredient. Fortunately, there are a few cocktails that play to Fernet Branca's strengths; we've previously explored one of them, the Toronto, but here's another that uses the digestivo to good effect.