I asked him for Automatic Midnight, He brought me Hanky Panky

I had the wonderful opportunity this past Monday to make a quick trip to The Franklin Mortgage and Investment Co. for a couple of cocktails with Jan.  She had just finished the 2012 Blue Cross Broad Street run the day before.  That’s an accomplishment worth toasting.  In a more sobering outcome to her feat, she posted a picture of her blistered foot on her facebook page.  Any foot fetish I may have held has evaporated.

I wrote that intro a few weeks ago.  As I percolated on the post, I realized that it really didn’t go anywhere particularly insightful.  But now I realize it did, however that insight is all in the title.

I really enjoy the pierced and inked vibe at Franklin.  I kind of like that awesome drinks aren’t the realm of just the investment bankers or Main Line debutants.  I like that Franklin serves great drinks and that the clientele is truly a mixed group, if appearances count for anything.  I also really enjoy the menu at Franklin, specifically the drink names.  They are sourced from song titles and other random places.  Names like “Demon Tied to a Chair in my Brain”, “Death on Two Legs”, and “Always Crashing the Same Car” aren’t for the faint of heart.

So when I threw myself in the capable hands of Al the bartender, he made me an unnamed drink to replace the Automatic Midnight that I ordered.  He brought me a Hanky Panky.  I kind of wondered if I would have ordered that drink if I had to select it by name off the menu.  It came further to mind when Jan sent me an email with the cocktail menu at the Barnes Foundation.  She highlighted the “Gin Yummy” as her drink to try.  Jan loves a spicy cocktail, and this really does sound good, but I gave her some shit around the name.  You would never see a drink named “Gin Yummy” at Franklin.

So it all came around full circle when I threw my final Del mixed cocktail at Pegu in his hands and he served me a “Pink Gin”.  It was simply gin spiked with bitters.  So I had another drink I don’t think I would have ordered by name.  The best part:  Del said it’s his favorite gin drink, because you can’t taste the gin.

Long story longer, props to Jan for the not so subtle reminder that it’s not the name, but what’s in the name that counts.

Hanky Panky

This classic cocktail recipe is credited to Ada Coleman, head bartender at the American Bar in The Savoy in 1925.

• 1 1/2 oz. gin (Warwick American Dry)
• 1 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth (Dolin)
• 2 dashes Fernet Branca

Ice cubes
Tools: mixing glass, barspoon, strainer
Glass: cocktail
Garnish: orange twist (I subbed lemon)

Stir ingredients well in a mixing glass and strain into a chilled glass. Twist a small swath of orange peel over the surface of the drink.

Despite the name, this drink rocks.

~ by Tom on May 27, 2012.