The Hanky Panky: Bold, playful, and mischievous

The Whalebone Theatre and the Hanky Panky Cocktail: Bold, playful, and mischievous

In Joanna Quinn’s The Whalebone Theatre, spunky and creative Cristabel Seagrave and her half-siblings transform the bones of a beached whale into a makeshift theater on a crumbling English country estate. While the adults around them throw decadent parties and chase after fleeting romances, the children find joy in designing and performing their own productions, creating a world where they can escape the chaos of their upbringing. The children come of age at the onset of WWII, and Cristabel channels her childhood boldness and sense of adventure to become a spy for the British, never forgetting how the theater shaped her into the woman she becomes. Quinn adeptly balances the innocence and playfulness of youth with complexities and passions of adulthood, interlacing secrets and clandestine goings-on into the narrative. 

We paired The Whalebone Theatre with the 1930s Hanky Panky cocktail, a Savoy classic by Ada Coleman. Combining Fernet Branca, Italian vermouth, and dry gin, this drink mirrors the novel’s spirit—bold, intriguing, and just a little mischievous. The cocktail's playful name and refined ingredients perfectly complement the book's celebration of love, creativity, and nonconformity, with a dash of adventure thrown in for good measure. 

This cocktail is modeled on Ada Coleman’s Hanky Panky. She was the London Savoy Hotel's head bartender from 1903 until 1926. 

Ingredients:

2 dashes Fernet Branca

1 ½ oz Italian Vermouth

1 ½ oz Dry Gin

1 Orange Peel for garnish

Instructions:

Shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Express the orange peel and leave in the glass as garnish.