Pod Insights Stuff You Missed in History Class Ada Coleman and the Savoy’s American Bar About this episode Ada Coleman was head bartender at the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in London in the early 20th century. She created a cocktail that is still served today, and she's an enduring icon of the bartending industry.
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2:15 Holly Frey? Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production of iHeart Radio.
2:25 Holly Frey? Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Frey.
2:28 Tracy V. Wilson? And I'm Tracy V. Wilson.
2:31 Holly Frey? Sometimes there's a historical topic that keeps coming to the forefront in my day to day life. That just happens to you as well, until finally I'm like, fine, I will do it. And this is one of those, but it's also delightful. So it's more like one of those, oh, I won't do that. I'll save that for a time when I need a self indulgent episode. But this is a combination of the two. It's both self indulgent and it keeps flagging in my life and coming up in various times. So it's time. I actually mentioned Ada Coleman on the show recently, I think. And she came up on a recent episode of Criminella and her story has kind of stayed on my mind, even though it's really pretty piecemeal. We don't have a wide range of biographical detail, but it also offers a pretty unique glimpse
3:16 Holly Frey? into bar culture, luxury hospitality, and the roles of women in the early 20th century. Ada was a head bartender, although women were generally called bar maids at the time. That connotation of youth that comes with that is important, and we'll talk about why as we get into some, some details later. And she had that title at the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in London. She created a cocktail that is still served today, both at the Savoy and elsewhere, and she's kind of considered an enduring icon of the bartending industry.
3:51 Tracy V. Wilson? Ada Coleman was born in or around 1875. That makes it clear her exact birthday? We don't know. And we also really don't have any information about her formative years. According to the common story of Ada's early life and introduction into the hospitality world, her father worked for a man named Rupert Doily Cartt as a steward in his golf club. A steward in this case is kind of like a bar manager. That's the person making sure everything stays stocked and there are fresh ingredients on hand for any perishable things and receipts are accounted for at the end of the day, all of that.
4:33 Tracy V. Wilson? Rupert Doily Cart was the son of Richard Doily Cart, who had founded the Doily Cart Opera Company. That company was known for its policy of only producing Gilbert and Sullivan shows. The Savoy Theatre was purpose-built to produce the theatre duo's shows, and to accommodate the many theatregoers who flocked to London to see those shows. He also built the Savoy Hotel next door in 1889. The Savoy Hotel was a very modern construction project. It was entirely electric, there was an elevator, it had hot and cold running water, and every room had a speaking tube so that guests could call for anything they might need or want.
5:18 Tracy V. Wilson? Richard's son Rupert took over all of those businesses.
5:23 Holly Frey? And when Ada's father died in 1899, Ada went to work. She was offered a job in the flower shop at Claridge's Hotel, which was also owned by Doily Cart. This is often framed as like a favor he did because he really liked her father and the family. According to an interview she gave later in her life, she made her first cocktail at Claridge's, that was a Manhattan. She was coached in the making of that drink by the wine butler there, whose name was Fisher, and who is the person who taught her about bartending. And she got on quickly, and soon she was moved from her position in the flower shop to a position in the hotel bar. She was reportedly 24 at the time, and as we'll discuss in a moment,
6:06 Holly Frey? 24 would be the point where a lot of women were aging out of barmaid jobs. But Ada was just getting started. She was the exact right mix of friendly and naturally good at making drinks to quickly become a favorite of both management and patrons.
6:24 Tracy V. Wilson? Frank Wells had been head bartender at the Savoy Hotel's popular American Bar since its opening. When he retired, Ada was moved into that position. The American Bar was, and still is, an institution. It was opened in 1893 and has hosted a long list of famous patrons over more than 130 years that it's been in service. It's touted by the Savoy as the longest surviving cocktail bar in London. It's considered one of the best bars in the world. The name "American Bar" refers to drinks served in what was called in the late 19th century "American style." That just means cocktails or mixed drinks,
7:09 Tracy V. Wilson? even though that was probably not the invention of the United States. There were a lot of American bars popping up in Europe in the late 1800s, but none of them attained the popularity or legendary status of the Savoy's bar. And Ada is sometimes credited for really putting it on the map.
7:30 Holly Frey? And to get a sense of what the bar scene was like regarding women employees when Ada was promoted to the American Bar head bartender position, we have a 1905 publication prepared by the Joint Committee on the Employment of Barmaids. They made a whole committee for it, and that publication is titled "Women as Barmaids." This was a document prepared to support a case to ban women from working in bars at a time when a lot of women did so. Some estimates suggest that half of all bar staff in England at this time were women. You'll also sometimes see this as like they pull in a quote or a statistic from the US at the time where it's much more lopsided.
8:13 Holly Frey? But in England, it was very common for women to work in bars specifically. The introduction to this document, which was written by the Lord Bishop of Southwark, is very open about its message that alcohol plus women equals moral depravity, and includes this commentary on how women should be treated. Quote, "We ought, I think, to keep them free from the stress of what drives them towards a life so unsuited for women. In the case of those who read what is here said about the use of young women as an instrument of bringing in business, about the kind of women desired, I shall be surprised if they do not feel that the practice of so employing some of our brightest girls is lowering to the whole moral tone
8:57 Holly Frey? of the community with regard to women." But though the Lord Bishop states repeatedly that public morale is at risk when women work in bars, he concludes by saying, quote, "I need not point out that there is no intention to suggest the withdrawal of work from any who are already engaged upon it." So theoretically, at this point, Ada would have been able to retain her job. There is also a note at the beginning of this published report that states, quote, "This book makes no charges against publicans generally, and most certainly not against barmaids, many of whom remained firm against all temptations and dangers."
9:38 Tracy V. Wilson? The rest of the report goes on to talk about the distribution of barmaids throughout Great Britain and Ireland, noting that in some areas, barmaids are never hired, while in others, and most definitely in London, it's very common. But even so, at a time when a total of 4,171,751 women and girls were working in Britain and Ireland, only 78,834 of them were working in what we would now call the hospitality industry, which in the report includes, quote, "in, hotelkeepers, publicans, beer sellers, cider dealers, cellarwomen, barmaids,
10:22 Tracy V. Wilson? and others in in hotel eating house service." Barmaids made up 27,707 of these positions per the 1901 census. The report notes that barmaids averaged 12 shillings a week in pay, with the low end being five and the high end being 15, and that most positions included board and lodging as well.
10:46 Holly Frey? While this was only slightly lower pay than men in similar jobs, the barmaids were not protected by any labor laws. They could be let go for any reason, and they were often made to pay for any loss through breakage from their salary, quote, "even if caused by the customer." This was also a job field that the report described as overcrowded, with many women moving into service jobs from domestic work, thinking that it would be more interesting, only to find that it is often far more strenuous. Two-thirds of the people working barmaid jobs were between the ages of 15 and 25. The report quotes a trade magazine of the time in noting that as women age,
11:30 Holly Frey? they cannot compete for these jobs with younger women. Quote, "In the barmaid's calling, the old have no chance against the young."
11:38 Tracy V. Wilson? On the proprietor's side, hiring women into bar positions had two clear benefits. One, it attracted more men as patrons. And two, having women as employees made bars appear more respectable to other women, who then would be more comfortable selecting those establishments over ones where only men worked. But because there were not regulations for the hospitality industry on the hours that a woman could be required to work in the early 20th century, there was also the benefit of scheduling them for ridiculously long shifts. Some establishments were open as many as 123 and a half hours per week. And sometimes, barmaids were expected to be on duty
12:23 Tracy V. Wilson? from opening to closing, so they could work 19-hour days in some cases. The report cites the account of several women who worked as barmaids, and one who noted that she is, quote, "one of the lucky sort, who worked a 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. shift, with a total of two hours off throughout the day for rest and meals."
12:44 Holly Frey? This write-up then notes, quote, "This great length of hours necessitated by the conditions of the licensed victualer's trade, from a physical point of view, renders the calling unsuited for women. Prolonged standing injures a woman in a way it does not a man, and tends to incapacitate her for the normal woman's life." There are also testimonials by doctors noting that working in a bar is terrible for women's health. Some of these are definitely from the valid point of view that, for example, pre-teen girls should not be working as barmaids. But of course, no one that young should be working. But the same thing is not stated regarding boys who work in bars.
13:26 Holly Frey? Some of this is because barmaids are, as the report calls them, sirens who attract men to drink. So there is a moral issue there as perceived by the social mores of the early 1900s that is not as much of a consideration for boys. It's interesting that all of this is leading to a case of removing women from the trade rather than enacting labor laws to protect them, particularly when there are other industries like cotton factories that are noted in the report as having employee hours that are regulated by law. We'll continue talking about the contents of the committee's published report on the state of barmaids in the early 1900s, including some rather dark aspects of the job.
14:09 Holly Frey? But first, we will pause for a sponsor break.
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18:14 Holly Frey? The Women as Bar Maids report, prepared by the Joint Committee on the Employment of Bar Maids, also makes the case that women are more likely to develop dependencies on alcohol and stimulants in such jobs, and that in general, they will become amoral due to the constant exposure to men, who are likely to speak and behave immorally with them in ways they would not normally with a woman. That isn't really news to anyone who's ever been in a bar, and there are statements included from women who worked in the field, one of whom stated, quote, "Many and many a time have I cried myself to sleep after I have been laughing and joking all the evening because of the things we have to put up with in the bar.
18:57 Holly Frey? I don't consider it as a proper occupation for a woman. Any cad who can pay two pence for a drink thinks he is entitled to say what he likes to the bar main." Often, women also faced physical violence from their customers, particularly when they were intoxicated. But this was not only a problem with patrons. There are a lot of accounts in this publication of women being assaulted or pressured into sexual relationships with their employers.
19:25 Tracy V. Wilson? While the study of barmaids notes that many women in the business end up married to patrons and often to, quote, "men above themselves in station", it also said that women who did not get married by 35 while working in bars were doomed to, quote, "a gloomy prospect", some very sad statistics of deaths, including murders and suicides.
19:49 Holly Frey? The solution to phasing out women working as barmaids, per the committee's recommendation, was this, quote, "The form which it is proposed that legislation should take is that on a certain date, all barmaids then in employ should receive a certificate stating this fact, and provided with means of identification, and that it should thenceforth be illegal for publicans to engage as barmaid any woman but one so certificated." That is how they put it. "The calling would thus come automatically to an end in a few years. This law would not prevent a publican's employing his own wife or daughter to serve in his bar, nor would it prevent a certificated barmaid
20:31 Holly Frey? from entering on a fresh situation whenever she pleased." There are also additional recommendations that families that would not be able to ensure a financial future for their daughters should just start to make sure they trained them for a trade. There is also the recommendation to women's immigration societies, which is how they put it, "that the lack of jobs for women in England could be addressed if young women would move to Canada or the various British colonies that needed teachers and governesses."
21:01 Tracy V. Wilson? And somehow, in this social and cultural environment that was in many ways so antagonistic toward women working behind a bar, Ada Coleman, who patrons called "Colly", really thrived. To be clear, she was working in the fanciest bars in the city of London, not in a tavern or an inn that was likely to have a rougher clientele and ownership. But she was still an outlier, although she wasn't the only woman working at the American bar. Another woman, named Ruth Burgess, was also a barmaid there. You might think these two would become allies in an industry that was so stacked against women, and that does not appear to have been the case. We will talk about
21:45 Tracy V. Wilson? why in just a moment.
21:47 Holly Frey? The nature of the Savoy and its bar, tightly tied to the theater world, was also a perfect fit for Ada. She was a fan of theater, and she loved to spend time with the performers and the creatives who put together shows for the Savoy Theater, often inviting them to her home for get togethers. Her favorite bar regulars were also invited if they were lucky, and she was reportedly a fantastic hostess. She was also very comfortable and at ease with celebrities of all kinds, so she was able to banter with them and cater service to their personalities. In her time as the Savoy's head bartender, she served
22:26 Holly Frey? royalty, millionaires, and the most celebrated authors of the day, including Mark Twain. Her bubbly personality and her skill with a shaker made her something of a celebrity in her own right. For the wealthy and famous, if you were in London, you had to have Coley make you a drink, and she became the favored bartender of people like Charlie Chaplin and the Prince of Wales. In short, Coley was the it bartender of London.
22:54 Tracy V. Wilson? Being head bartender also meant she was managing the bar's various business and logistics needs. She was the person who developed the menu, who managed the other bartenders, and who made sure that all the bar's guests were taken care of while also mixing drinks more or less constantly.
23:11 Holly Frey? When the US passed its prohibition law, a correspondent for the periodical The Mixer and Server got Coley's take on prohibition after speaking to her about a bartender who said that he professionally served alcohol but personally believed that no one should drink. She responded, quote, "I don't agree with him at all. If you're looking for a temperance sermon, young man, you will have to move on. Famous men from all over the world have been in this bar in my time, and I have seen them go out and become more famous than ever. When Mark Twain came over from your America to get a degree from Oxford University, I served him a cocktail here. Did not brave young men of the war days come
23:54 Holly Frey? here to have a last drink together and tell each other goodbye?" She also told the writer that England would never pass prohibition laws because of what she called the four L's: the lords, the landlords, the ladies, and the laborers.
24:07 Tracy V. Wilson? One of Coley's most noteworthy professional achievements, at least in terms of historical longevity, was the creation of a cocktail called the Hanky Panky. The story behind it involves one of her regulars, renowned comedy actor and director Sir Charles Henry Hawtry. Just for disambiguation, he shares the same name with another English actor. The one we are talking about today was born in 1858, and the other was born in 1914. They were not related. Our Charles Hawtry often worked with Gilbert and Sullivan, so he was tied into the Savoy ecosystem.
24:49 Holly Frey? Here is how Ada Coleman described the drink's genesis in an interview that she gave several years later. Quote, "The late Charles Hawtry was one of the best judges of cocktails that I knew. Some years ago, when he was overworking, he used to come into the bar and say, 'Coley, I am tired. Give me something with a bit of punch in it.' It was for him that I spent hours experimenting until I had invented a new cocktail. 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, that is the real Hanky Panky.' And Hanky Panky has been called ever since."
25:29 Holly Frey? The hanky panky, incidentally, is a very spirit forward drink. It consists of equal parts gin and sweet vermouth with a couple of dashes of Fernet Branca. And the term hanky panky was more of a reference to witchcraft and alchemy in England than the suggestion of sexual activity that that phrase connotes today in the US.
25:49 Tracy V. Wilson? In a moment, we will talk about the end of Ada's bartending career and some debate about it. First, we will hear from the sponsors that keep the show going.
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28:26 Holly Frey? Ada's retirement from the bar is one of those things that is told differently by different people. But every story involves Harry Craddock. Craddock, who wrote the Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930, that is a book we have mentioned on this show, is sometimes described as an American, but he was born in Stroud, England. He did move to the US and become a US citizen in his early years, though. And in the US, he also became a bartender. And he did really well as a bartender, until prohibition shut down all of the places he had ever worked. So at that point, he moved back to England, where, as Ada had said, the four L's made sure alcohol stayed legal. And he got hired at American Bar.
29:12 Holly Frey? There is some debate around Craddock's relationship with Ada at the American Bar. And that involves a lot of speculation. Some accounts note that he worked at American Bar for five years while Ada was head bartender. But it does seem as though he may have really bristled at working under a woman supervisor and then launched a campaign to get rid of Coley from her head bartender position.
29:39 Tracy V. Wilson? In an interview with Chilled Magazine, the Savoy's archivist Susan Scott reiterated that "we don't know any of this with certainty," stating, quote, "There was no possibility of getting the top job in the American Bar as long as Miss Coleman was there. And while it is easy to say there was no love lost between them, that is just supposition."
30:01 Holly Frey? Yeah, there's a whole story that some people say is documented that he kind of made the case to the ownership that if people came into the bar who were Americans, they were not used to seeing women bartenders and so they wouldn't go there or like it. But like at that point, she had been working for more than 20 years and when people came from the US, they seemed to love her. So there's a lot of theory going on there. Ruth Burgess was also retired from the bar at the same time as Ada in the mid 1920s. And the bar was also closed at that point temporarily for renovations. So there's
30:43 Holly Frey? always the possibility that all of this was merely a logistics and staffing issue.
30:49 Tracy V. Wilson? In 1926, an article appeared in various newspapers announcing the, quote, "retirement of Ada and Ruth from the American Bar." Here's what it said, quote, "Beloved by all drinking men who come to them for cheer from the four corners of the world, the two picturesque barmaids of the Savoy Hotel have laid down their cocktail shakers without patching up their differences. They are Miss Ada Coleman and Miss Ruth Burgess. For over 20 years, they have worked in the same little corner, handled the same bottles, and beamed on the same good friends without speaking to each other. This feud, which most old customers
31:30 Tracy V. Wilson? knew about but could not explain, hung over the back bar like a film of fog when both were there, but through the years, the atmosphere has otherwise remained bright and cheerful. Between happy greetings and fond farewells with customers, much Mary Patter passed across the bar, but the women between them nourished relentlessly their mutual enmity and scorn."
31:54 Holly Frey? So this article goes on to explain that the root of the issue and the decades-long animosity between the women is this.
32:03 Holly Frey? Ruth Burgess had been at American Bar since 1902. And when Cooley started there the following year, she started making her own newly invented cocktails, which quickly became the preferred drinks of the bar regulars. When Ada was not working, those regulars would order them from Ruth, but she didn't know how to make them. And then when she asked Ada for the recipes so she could make them when Ada wasn't working, Ada refused. And at that point, the two stopped speaking to one another entirely.
32:34 Tracy V. Wilson? The article continues, quote, "Neither ever dreamed of leaving her work to be free of the quarrel, but each waited and hoped that the other would go. Finally, the blow came to both at the same time. The management explained that changes were being made. The bar renovated a new system necessary and that they had earned a rest. They were given notice and granted pensions. After that, Harry Kratic was the head bartender at American Bar, and Ada, who had not actually retired, was moved into a position at the Savoy's Flower Shop. When Kratic published the Savoy Cocktail Book a few years later, he included the hanky panky in it and credited Ada.
33:19 Tracy V. Wilson? But it's the only drink in the book that bears her name, even though it's likely that multiple signature drinks of the Savoy's Bar were her creations.
33:28 Holly Frey? Ada's life after the Savoy does not appear to have garnered a lot of attention. She died at the age of 91 in 1966, but the gap between her time at the Savoy and her death doesn't seem to be well recorded. Today, Ada is considered one of the most important bartenders of all time. She was certainly prolific. By her own calculations, she had made 1 million drinks during her career behind the bar.
33:57 Tracy V. Wilson? American Bar, as we mentioned earlier, continues to this day. It's become somewhat difficult to get into as a prestige bar that also features some of the world's priciest drinks. This includes a sazerac that costs 5,000 pounds because it's made with vintage spirits. Their vintage hanky panky is 150 pounds. American Bar also develops a new menu periodically, each iteration built around a different theme. The current one, which features both non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, is built around the theme of liquid moments, celebrating the people, details, and events that have become important to the establishment's history.
34:41 Tracy V. Wilson? To be named head bartender at American Bar is one of the highest honors in the bartending industry, although it comes with a lot of pressure. In 2021, as the Savoy was reopening its various departments after COVID shutdowns, Shannon Tabey became the first US-born bartender to helm American Bar. That also made her the first woman head bartender since Ada's retirement in the 1920s.
35:09 Holly Frey? The relationship between Ada and Ruth was examined in an immersive theater project in 2017 in Washington DC. The post-shift theater recreated an imaginary first shift that Ada and Ruth worked behind the bar together. I wish I had known about and seen that.
35:27 Tracy V. Wilson? Today, there's a professional organization called the Ada Coleman Project. In the organization's own words, quote, "Our mission is to not only bring awareness to the current inequities and the representation of women plus in educational and recreational bartending roles, but also to offer meaningful solutions. Our vision is to spotlight the women who innovate and inspire us as an industry in an effort to raise awareness and encourage meaningful conversation regarding the need for a more balanced and diverse selection of leaders, educating, speaking, and advocating for the next generation and beyond." Their logo is a stylized version of a nearly empty hanky panky glass, which is intended
36:10 Tracy V. Wilson? to evolve and be represented as fuller and fuller as the group achieves greater inclusivity in the bartending industry.
36:19 Holly Frey? Kind of a cool legacy. Uh huh. Um, I have listener mail. Listener mail is also about an important woman that we've talked about. This is from um, our listener, Lissa, who writes, Dear Holly and Tracy, I have just pressed pause while listening to your episode titled Helen A Blanchard, Sewing Machine Innovator, so that I could thank you for a marvelous 45 minutes of listening. I love to sew, but hand finish my garments because I despise the appearance of surged edges. I have frequently passed over garments for purchase for having surged interiors, all the while cursing whoever invented that blasted machine. And now, having heard Helen's story, I'm quite pleased to know that a smart woman invented it,
37:03 Holly Frey? and rather disappointed that I'll just have to stew in my dissatisfaction while not wishing any additional ill toward her memory. Dorit. Thank you for your wonderful podcast. I have listened since the very beginning, originally downloading episodes to the iTunes player on my desktop computer. The contrast of wandering around with you two ladies in my pocket now is delightful. I hope you enjoy writing the show as much now as you did when you joined it more than 10 years ago. Cheers to you, Lissa. Uh, she mentions she doesn't have a PhD because she skips over the spooky episodes, but uh, one of them she listened to because 20 years ago, my husband wrote a musical version of the Greenbrier ghost story, so I enjoyed hearing your version. Thank you for all the rest, though.
37:48 Holly Frey? Uh, that sounds amazing. I would love to hear that musical, so please feel free to send it along if you have any recordings. Um, that tickled me immensely. I, my hat is off to people who hand finish all of their garments when they sew, because I am lazy. Yeah. And I am in it because I want more clothes that I can't probably find elsewhere. And I am a big fan of the searcher, as she heard. So, uh, but again, my hat is off to people that do hand finishing. It is beautiful. Uh, if you would like to write to us and uh, share your dismay at searcher finishes, or your delight at learning that a smart woman did it, or anything else, you can do that at [email protected] .
38:32 Holly Frey? You can also subscribe to the show. It is the simplest thing in the world. You can do that on the iHeartRadio app, or anywhere you listen to your favorite shows.
38:45 Tracy V. Wilson? Stuff You Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
39:00 Tracy V. Wilson? Whether you're calling the wise women in your life, video calling your girlfriends across the country, or checking out on someone who always knows how to make you smile, staying connected matters. Those small conversations, shared laughs, and quick hellos are what keep relationships strong even when life gets busy. Some of the most life-giving conversations start with just a phone call. That's why AT&T guarantees the network you can rely on, so you can focus on the moments and people that matter most. That's the AT&T Guarantee. AT&T: Connecting changes everything. Terms and conditions apply. Visit att.com/guarantee for details.
39:35 Holly Frey? A rare disease diagnosis can change your life, but it doesn't have to define your future. In season seven of Untold Stories: Life with a Severe Autoimmune Condition, host Martine Hackett continues the conversation with people living with MG, CIDP, and the broader rare disease community, exploring what comes after diagnosis through stories of hope, progress, and connection. Produced by Ruby Studio in partnership with Argenx. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Previous Helen McNicoll, Canadian Impressionist Next Behind the Scenes Minis: Helen and Ada Page updated November 4, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated