Hanky Panky

Another fernet will do the job, though Branca is the most aggressive and the drink was written around that. Fernet-Vallet is softer and a touch sweeter. Avoid substituting a gentle amaro like Montenegro here, since the whole trick is the menthol and bitter root pushing against all that vermouth.

Probably not. Fernet neat is a wall of menthol and bitterness. At 8 ml against 90 of gin and vermouth it stops being the flavor and becomes a rasp underneath, the way Angostura works in an Old Fashioned. Plenty of Fernet skeptics order this without knowing what's in it.

Something with weight. Carpano Antica or Punt e Mes both have enough body to hold their own against the fernet, and Punt e Mes adds its own bitterness if you want the drink pushed further that way. A thin, cheap vermouth gets flattened and you'll only taste the Branca.

Orange, and squeeze it over the surface before you drop it in. The oils sit on top of the bitterness and give the first sip a sweeter entry. Lemon works but sharpens the drink in a direction it doesn't need, since the fernet already supplies all the edge available.

A classic Hanky Panky calls for 45 ml (1.5 oz) Gin, 45 ml (1.5 oz) Sweet vermouth, 8 ml (0.25 oz) Fernet. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

A standard Hanky Panky is roughly 29% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it spirit-forward — closer to a Martini than to a beer, so sip it slowly.

A Hanky Panky is shaken. About 13 seconds with plenty of ice chills and dilutes it correctly.