Aviation
45 ml Gin, 15 ml Maraschino liqueur, 15 ml Lemon juice, 7.5 ml Crème de violette, 1 Maraschino cherry
Photo: Hanky Panky Cocktail by Will Shenton · CC BY-SA 3.0 · All credits
Ingredients
Measures below are multiplied for 12 drinks. Unmeasurable amounts such as “a splash” are left as written.
- 540 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 540 ml line. Gin
- 540 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 540 ml line. Sweet vermouth
- 90 ml Jigger One large side (50 ml) and one small side (25 ml) of a standard jigger, plus a tablespoon. Fernet-Branca - A barspoon is plenty - Fernet does not need encouragement
- 12 twists Orange twist (optional)
Measured in Millilitres (UK). Sign in to read these in American measures. Print a kitchen card at this size.
What the jigger, the spoons and the jug hold, in millilitres and in fluid ounces, is on the measures reference.
Quick version
- Stir gin, vermouth and Fernet over ice and strain into a chilled glass.
Method
Batch (12 drinks)Batch (12 drinks) - about 1.18 l of measured ingredients, before ice and dilution.
Timings and per-glass steps below are written for one drink and are not scaled. A full jug takes longer to chill, so stir or shake until it is properly cold rather than by the clock, and pour over fresh ice one glass at a time.
- Fill a mixing glass with ice.
- Pour in the gin, sweet vermouth and Fernet-Branca and stir for 30 seconds.
- Strain into a chilled coupe, or over one big cube in a rocks glass.
- Express a strip of orange peel over the top and drop it in.
Serve it
Volumes in this story are multiplied for the size above, along with the ingredients. Years, ratios and the capacities of glasses and jugs are left as written.
Hanky Panky
Ada Coleman ran the American Bar at the Savoy for more than twenty years, from 1903, and this is her drink. The story goes that the actor Charles Hawtrey asked her for something with a bit of a bite, she added a splash of Fernet, he drank it and said "by Jove, that's the real hanky panky" - and the name stuck. She was one of the first famous women behind a bar anywhere, and this is the drink to raise to her.
Getting it right
Fernet is medicine, and the measure is a barspoon rather than a pour. It is worth being precise: too little and the drink is just a gin and vermouth; too much and it tastes like a cough lozenge. Stirred, never shaken, and served cold - it is a drink that improves as it warms, so start it properly chilled.
Tasting notes
Sweet vermouth and orange first, then a deep bitter herbal note that stays on the finish. It is a grown-up drink, and it becomes a habit rather quickly.
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