frankie panky

2 oz Blanco Tequila (Cimarron)
3/4 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1/4 oz Fernet Branca

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with an orange twist.

Two Thursdays ago, my advance copy of Maggie Hoffman's Batch Cocktails arrived; I was sent one for my Derby Cup was utilized as one of the recipes (albeit a scaled-up and batched version). So when I got home that night, I quickly flipped through the pages to see if there was a good recipe that could be scaled down to become my nightcap. The one that made the call was Los Angeles bartender Liam Odien's riff on the Hanky Panky from the Savoy Cocktail Book. Here, tequila subbed for the gin base, and the sweet vermouth was replaced by a combination of Cynar and dry vermouth.
Given the name, I was curious if it were a tribute to NYC bartender Ms. Franky Marshall, but I realized that the spelling was wrong; instead, it could be named after a West Coast photographer and burlesque performer Frankie Panky. The Frankie Panky began the act with an orange and minty-herbal aroma. Next, the Cynar's caramel filled the sip, and the swallow closed things out with tequila and complementary funky herbal flavors along with minty-menthol notes from the Fernet.