Ada Coleman’s successor was the renowned, Harry Craddock, who first came to The Savoy in the 1920s to develop his mixology skills. Passionate about the art of cocktail making, Craddock would experiment with different concoctions, quickly becoming a famed bartender in the industry. He took up the reigns of Head Bartender at the American Bar in 1925. Like with his predecessors, Craddock would create drinks for royalty, celebrities, and politicians with some notable figures being Ava Gardner, Charlie Chaplin, and Errol Flynn.

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Craddock was precise and creative when it came to cocktail mixology and is best known for inventing the White Lady cocktail: a mixture of lemon juice, Cointreau, and dry gin. There was one instance in 1927 when The Savoy’s directors asked Craddock to leave an un-poured serving of the White Lady in a cocktail shaker. At the time, the American Bar was undergoing some refurbishment and as it happened, Rupert D’Oyly Carte, the Hotel Manager at the time, had asked for a ‘cocktail shaker sized gap’ to be left in the construction. Craddock placed the cocktail shaker into the perfectly sized gap and the remaining concrete was poured over. Unfortunately, to this day the whereabouts of Craddock’s buried liquid treasure has remained uncovered.

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Craddock is also famed for creating The Savoy Cocktail Book - a written collection of cocktail recipes reflective of The Savoy and the art deco era. The book has become an integral manual for bartenders across the globe not only cataloguing recipes for some of the most notable cocktails but also detailing techniques, philosophies, and insights behind the drinks. It is safe to say Craddock’s legacy lives on through the popularity of his cocktail creations and the impact The Savoy Cocktail Book has had on generations of bartenders who have followed in his footsteps.