Ada Coleman

Coleman was born in 1875, the daughter of a steward at Rupert D'Oyly Carte's golf club.^{[dubious – discuss]} When she was 24 her father died, and D'Oyly offered her a job at one of his hotels, first in the flower shop and then in the bar at Claridge's hotel.^{[1][dubious – discuss]}

Around the time that Coleman began working as a bartender, according to a study published in 1905, slightly less than half the bartenders in London were women.^[2] "Barmaids", as they were called, were usually the daughters of tradesmen or mechanics or, occasionally, young women from the "better-born" classes who had been "thrown upon their own resources" and needed an income.^[2] Though the hours were long, many women saw the job as less monotonous and potentially more lucrative than other jobs that were available to them. Campaigns were underway at that time to eliminate barwork as an occupation for women, because of perceptions that the job was bad for them and for society, physically and morally.^[2]

Coleman, at 24, was nearly at the age ceiling for entry level female bartenders, as many bars and pubs specified no one over 25 need apply.^[3] In an interview with the London Express, Coleman remembered that the first mixed drink she made was a Manhattan, and that she was coached by Fisher, the hotel's Wine Butler, on how to make it.^[4]

Coleman was promoted to head bartender of the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in 1903.^[5] Though Coleman is sometimes cited as the first and only female head bartender at the Savoy,^[6] there was already another woman tending bar, Ruth Burgess, known as "Miss B" or "Kitty", who started in 1902. Newspaper accounts say they were equally popular with customers, but it was Coleman who was interviewed when she retired and who later found her way into 20th and 21st century histories of cocktails and bartending. One account says the two women worked separate shifts for 20 years without speaking to one another because Coleman had refused to give Burgess the recipes for her popular drinks.^[7][8]

American bars, and the diverse cocktails they served, had become popular in England in the late 19th century, and were a selling point for any establishment that had them during Coleman's era.^[9] Coleman quickly developed a reputation for being a talented bartender and consummate hostess to the notable and affluent clientele of the Savoy. The Earl of Lonsdale wrote that "she was so nice and so kind and so full of life and energy."^[10] Other clients who drank at Coleman's bar included Mark Twain, Marlene Dietrich, Charlie Chaplin, Diamond Jim Brady and the Prince of Wales.^[4] "Coley," as her customers nicknamed her, was an "impresario" behind the bar, according to cocktail historian Ted Hughes. "Not only was Coley...a woman in the world of male bartenders," he said, "it was she who made the bar famous."^[11]

A lover of musical theatre, she also gave parties at her home which were attended by a diverse crowd of people.^[1]

Coley was known as a mixologist who enjoyed creating new drinks. Charles Hawtrey, a comedic actor, and, according to Coley, "one of the best judges of cocktails that I knew," used to come into the bar and say, "Coley, I am tired. Give me something with a bit of punch in it." Coleman recalled.

"It was for him that I spent hours experimenting until I had invented a new cocktail," she said. "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! This is the real hanky-panky!"^[4]

The name hanky panky, which in England meant at that time 'magic', or 'witchcraft' stuck with the drink, a combination of gin, vermouth and Fernet Branca, which is still served in the American Bar at the Savoy today, as well as listed in cocktail manuals.^[4]