Drinking History
the cock tail passes from patron to patron down the bar at Handshake Speakeasy, each guest dipping a short metal straw into the coupe to siphon out a fleeting taste of the 100 Year Old Hanky Panky. Everyone at the Mexico City bar knows they’ll never taste a drink quite like this again—lush and concentrated, its amaro edge softened over time, made with gin and vermouth that predate the Sputnik launch and a Fernet-Branca that’s older still, dating back to 1930.
Although better known for its modernist cocktails, Handshake’s menu has, since last summer, featured four drinks incorporating vintage spirits, ranging from a $55 shakerato made with 1980s Campari to that time-capsule Hanky Panky, which sells for a breathtaking $430. And it joins an elite club of establishments—the Office in Chicago, Seattle’s Canon, and Maison Premiere in New York City—gleaning inspiration from rows of dusty bottles.
London’s Connaught Bar, a perennial favorite on the World’s 50 Best Bars list, also introduced a vintage program last year. “We were ready to give guests a piece of liquid history,” says Agostino Perrone, who heads the Connaught Bar team. Its selection has grown from three drinks—including a martini and a white lady—to seven, to meet overwhelming consumer demand for all things small production, limited edition, and rare. Hence the success of the Connaught’s Silver Jubilee Rob Roy, made with a limited-run Scotch bottled for the former queen’s 1977 Platinum Jubilee and priced at
