The times we live in have required those in the bar and hospitality industry to be more flexible and innovative than ever.
Creativity has been the foundation of staying afloat and overcoming the odds with seemingly everything stacked against them. Hanky Panky, a speakeasy “somewhere in Mexico City,” debuted on the list of The World’s 50 Best Bars 2021 at No.12 to win the Disaronno Highest New Entry Award, and with good reason.
Walter Meyenberg, the owner of the successful bar, created a “Takeover Tour” amidst the pandemic in the spirit of collaboration and unity. With more relaxed restrictions regarding inbound travel to Mexico in 2021, Meyenberg decided to bring fellow bartenders and bar operators to them to show their support while creating a unique platform to also showcase their culture; a win-win.
“At Hanky Panky we always thought the pandemic shouldn’t be stopping this amazing industry from thriving, and—in a very safe way—we wanted to still keep in touch with our friends in the whole world as much as possible. It was a nice way of showing support to those friends whose bars couldn’t reopen for the whole year. We tried to bring them to our city and gave them a chance to get back behind the stick here. We also then returned to their bars right before The World’s 50 Best Bars gala (in December 2021) with the amazing possibility of touring Europe, seeing some incredible (old and new) cocktails bars and continuing this crazy cultural exchange.”
Pop-ups and takeovers are becoming increasingly popular in the industry, and Meyenberg is optimistic about them. “I think having a well-thought-out pop-up and takeover is a great opportunity of showing the world what you’re doing, the concept, menu and people behind a cocktail bar. It’s a unique way for consumers to experience the bar they might know very well but in a different way, and travel through their favorite spot in town.”
Gina Barbachano, the bar manager of Hanky Panky, explained that for the in-house takeovers, the visiting bars brought their own cocktails. Taking into consideration the style of Hanky Panky, those cocktails were then paired with four dishes showcasing the speakeasy’s roots. When it was their turn to tour, Hanky Panky created four craft cocktails that featured the richness of Mexican ingredients.
“We used ancient ingredients but with new techniques and in drinks that were created for the occasion and for the bar visited. One example is a delicious slushy-cocktail we created, made with Mexican Chocolate, that was prepared with a Molinillo, the typical Mexican wooden spoon used to melt chocolate.”
Unity and hospitality are at the forefront of Hanky Panky’s mission. “We want to keep the spotlight on an industry that has suffered recently but is still bubbly and very much alive! We do love our job so much, and so do our colleagues abroad, and what we wanted to achieve was to try and be together once again, with great flavors, music, drinks, dance, like we used to!”
This year looks to be a continuation of the team’s showcasing, with some partners including the famous New York’s Attaboy, the Artesian (London), Barro Negro (Athens), Drink Kong (Roma), among others.
Kicking off on January 19th, Hanky Panky presented their first pop up of the year hosting New York’s Attaboy, the legendary bar headed up by Sam Ross, Michael Mcllroy and Haley Traub, which is known for classic drinks and guiding guests’ experiences with no menu. The team created a special list with four different cocktails brilliantly paired with small dishes.
Following the Mexican bar hosted the Artesian, from the Langham London welcoming head bartender Giulia Cuccurullo. Throughout the rest of the year, each month Hanky Panky will be collaborating with a host of exciting partners, including Tres Monos from Buenos Aires, Drink Kong from Rome, and Barro Negro from Athens.
The post Mexico City, Hanky Panky’s Pop-Up Tour appeared first on Chilled Magazine.
Source: Mixology News
