The Hanky Panky is what a Martini becomes when a barspoon of Fernet-Branca lands in the mixing glass. Two parts gin, two parts sweet vermouth, two dashes of Fernet — that's the entire drink. The cocktail is credited to Ada Coleman, head bartender at the American Bar at the Savoy from 1903 to 1925, who said she made it for the British actor Sir Charles Hawtrey.
By Jove! That is the real hanky-panky.
Charles Hawtrey, as recalled by Ada Coleman (The People, 1925)Ada Coleman at the American Bar
Coleman — "Coley" to the bar's regulars — was one of the first women to run a major hotel bar in London. She joined the Savoy in 1903 and ran the American Bar until 1925, when Harry Craddock replaced her. Her interview in The People newspaper in 1925 is the primary source for the Hanky Panky origin: Hawtrey asked for "a drink with a bit of punch in it," she shook one up, and his reaction gave the cocktail its name.
The Hanky Panky was printed in Craddock's Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) — Coleman's successor inheriting and recording her recipe. The drink fell out of fashion for most of the twentieth century and returned in the 2000s as American bartenders rediscovered Fernet-Branca as a working ingredient rather than an industry shot.
The Spec
Equal parts gin and sweet vermouth — one and a half ounces each — with two dashes of Fernet-Branca. Stir long, strain into a chilled coupe, twist of orange over the top. The Fernet is measured in dashes; a quarter ounce reads as too much.
Why So Little Fernet
Two dashes is about a barspoon — maybe three milliliters. Increase it and the menthol-eucalyptus character of Fernet takes over; the gin and vermouth recede. The Hanky Panky is, structurally, a Martinez or sweet Martini with a quiet bitter accent. The whole point is that you can almost not taste the Fernet, but the drink would be flat without it.
Vermouth Choice
Carpano Antica is the modern reference — rich, slightly vanilla-forward — but Cocchi Vermouth di Torino or Punt e Mes work equally well. Punt e Mes adds its own bitter edge and lets you drop the Fernet entirely if you want a simpler variation; that's a different drink, but a defensible one.
Orange, Not Lemon
An orange peel, expressed over the surface, is the documented garnish. Lemon peel pulls the drink toward Martini territory; orange settles it into its sweet-vermouth foundation.
Bottom Line
If you like a Martinez or a sweet Manhattan, the Hanky Panky is a one-step variation worth the trouble of opening the Fernet. Two dashes — not three, not four — and a long stir. The reward is one of the most quietly complex stirred drinks in the canon, attributable to a real bartender and a real moment at a real bar.