How to Read The Secret Life of the Savoy with Olivia Williams

London is one of the most popular cities to visit - great restaurants, bars, hotels, but it wasn’t always that way. One man’s vision changed everything when he opened a hotel that would become one of the most influential in the world. Our guest today introduces us to that man.

For those of you who haven’t guessed already, that hotel is the Savoy in London, and that man is Richard D'Oyly Carte.

Sponsored by Bulleit Bourbon and Kentucky Tourism, our guest Olivia Williams introduces us to the three generations of the D'Oyly Carte family who pioneered the luxury hotel and the modern theatre, propelled Gilbert and Sullivan to lasting stardom, inspired a P. G. Wodehouse series, and popularised early jazz, electric lights, and Art Deco.

Olivia Williams is a journalist and author. She graduated with a master’s degree in modern history from Oxford University, and in her final year, she won a Rupert Murdoch student scholarship. She wrote her first book, Gin Glorious Gin: How Mother’s Ruin Became the Spirit of London, in 2014. Her second book, The Secret Life of the Savoy, was published in 2020. Olivia has been a guest on Radio 4, Bloomsberg, Sky Arts, and CBS News and has often contributed to The Economist, Country Life, House & Garden, and the Evening Standard.

Now it’s time to go inside the Savoy.

Our cocktail of the week is the Hanky Panky, a Savoy invention.

The Hanky Panky was Ada Coleman’s most famous cocktail. It was created for the actor-manager Sir Charles Hawtrey in the 1910s, who staggered into the American Bar one evening and begged “Coley” for some sort of pick-me-up. She made him a drink. He downed it pretty quickly and staggered out again, presumably much refreshed. The following evening he returned to the American Bar and asked Coley to knock out “some more of that hanky panky.” So she did. It’s remained a popular cocktail ever since!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ½ oz Gin
• 1 ½ oz Sweet Vermouth
• 2 Dashes Fernet-Branca
• Orange Twist

METHOD

• Combine the gin, sweet vermouth, and Fernet-Branca in a mixing glass filled with ice
• Stir until chilled
• Strain into a cocktail glass
• Add an orange twist

You’ll find this recipe and all the cocktails of the week at alushlifemanual.com, where you’ll also find all the ingredients in our shop.

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