This is the first in an occasional column on drinks made from the legendary 1930 "Savoy Cocktail Book."

I touched a first edition of "The Savoy Cocktail Book" once in the late '80s. I was a teenager and found it on a dusty shelf at John K. King Books in downtown Detroit. I fell in love with its foil cover and colorful Art Deco designs. And then I noticed the price: $45. Too much for a sober middle school student from southeastern Michigan. I put it back. But I never quite got over that first electrifying encounter.

We all have foodie passions; one of mine happens to be old cocktail books. And so almost two decades since I fell for the "Savoy," I have finally gotten my hands on a beat-up first edition and I want to bring you Slashfoodies along for the ride.

I asked a few mixologists what should be the maiden cocktail voyage for me and Savoy. It was Gary Regan who came up with the winner: The Hanky Panky.

The Savoy of the title is that swank London hotel renowned for its experimentation in the liquid arts. The book came out at a time when Americans were still languishing under Prohibition's dry spell. Others have attempted to make all the cocktails in the book. Here at Slashfood, I'm going to be choosy, and regularly ask for advice from professionals.



A few days after Regan suggested the Hanky Panky -- a blend of the Italian digestive Fernet Branca, sweet vermouth and gin -- I asked him why.

"I've been drinking Hanky Panky cocktails of late, so they are on my mind," he said. "The Hanky Panky can be hard to balance, but when it's done correctly, it's fabulous."



Ada Coleman, the hotel's head bartender from 1903 to 1926, created the drink for a customer who was tired of the same-old cocktails and wanted something with more punch, Regan said.

"It was for him that I spent hours experimenting until I had invented a new cocktail," Coleman said according to Regan. "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!'"

Today, the Hanky Panky does require an investment, with the Fernet Branca at $28 a bottle being the big one. I was torn as to what gin to use and ended up sticking with one of my favorites, Tanqueray.

The cocktail does have "punch," but the bitterness of the Fernet Branca is undercut by the orange peel and the sweet Italian vermouth.

What cocktail should I try next? Let me know in the comments section.

Sara Bonisteel is an editor at AOL Food.