Ada Coleman, known to her friends and customers as “Coley,” is perhaps the most famous and the best-known female bartender of all time. In the pre-prohibition age, it was a man’s world behind the bar. Well, evidently someone failed to let her know that, or she just didn’t care. And for that we salute her.
Years later when Craddock produced his Savoy Cocktail Book, he listed Ada’s most famous cocktail creation, The Hanky Panky. This classic cocktail is part of our Vintage Cocktail Project. We reviewed the Hanky Panky last year. (click here for post) Her drink is still served today at The Savoy. In an interview with The People newspaper in 1925, Ada shared her story of the Hanky Panky:
“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.”
Ada Coleman was the only female head bartender of The Savoy. She truly is a legend and an example of women who have broken through and made history. She is also proof that a good drink can be healthy, as she lived to the age of 91.
And so, Ada, we lift a “Hanky Panky” and salute you and all women bartenders today!
Our Libatious Nature 
The picture above is actually not the Charles Hawtrey for whom the Hanky Panky was made; it’s the later actor, whose real name was George Hartree, who assumed the name Charles Hawtrey in the hope that it would be assumed he was related to the famous actor manager.