Hanky Panky

Hanky Panky, by the rules

Hanky Panky is the Juárez speakeasy that takes the genre seriously enough to make the rules part of the visit. The bar opened in 2017, was named one of the World's 50 Best within three years, and continues to draw the city's better cocktail crowd because it is - despite the password, despite the staging - one of the technically best bars in Latin America. Walter Meyenberg's programme is the reason. The entry choreography is the framing.

1. Rule 1
   You book first. The reservation goes through the bar's website. They confirm by WhatsApp the day before with the address (in Juárez, in a building that looks like a residence) and the password for that evening. The password rotates. Memorise it; do not screenshot it.
2. Rule 2
   You arrive through a restaurant. The street entrance is a small Mexican restaurant. Tell the host you are there for Hanky Panky. They will walk you to a kitchen door at the back. Behind the door is the bar. The transition is fast and deliberately disorienting.
3. Rule 3
   You do not photograph the room. Phones face down on the table is the local convention. There is no public Instagram of the interior, and the bar would like to keep it that way. This is the rule that takes the longest for foreign visitors to get used to.
4. Rule 4
   You order from the season. The menu is themed every quarter - sometimes around a Mexican spirit, sometimes around a historical period, sometimes around a place. Order from the seasonal section first; the off-menu requests are welcome but they are a second-visit move.
5. Rule 5
   You take the visit slowly. Hanky Panky is not a quick drink. Most cocktails arrive with a small piece of food the bartender has paired with them. Two-and-a-half hours is the typical reservation slot; one drink in the first hour, a second in the second, a third or a digestivo to close. Tip the bar in pesos; cards take a long time.

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