Ada Coleman

Identified by Imbibe Magazine as one of “The Top 25 Most Influential Cocktail Personalities of the Past Century”:

"As the head bartender for the American Bar at The Savoy Hotel in the early 20th century, Ada Coleman was one of the first well-known female bartenders. She mentored Harry Craddock and mixed cocktails for famous authors, royalty and actors—the latter of which, Sir Charles Hawtrey, inspired her to create the Hanky Panky, which was among the first cocktails to incorporate Fernet Branca."

This entry is currently just a "stub" and needs to have more information added to it. Members of the Chanticleer Society are able to edit any of these pages. If you think you have valuable information to add, to this page or others, please sign up to become a member.

If you aren't yet a member, you can click on the Anonymous drop-down in the top-right and then on  Request an Account.

Ada Coleman was a bartender who worked at the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in London in the early 20th century. She is best known for creating the drink known as the "Hanky Panky," which is made with gin, sweet vermouth, and Fernet-Branca. Coleman was considered one of the most skilled and respected bartenders of her time, and her tenure at the American Bar was considered a golden age for the establishment. She worked as a head bartender for over a decade, from 1903 to 1915.