Harvey Wallbanger
I’ve been wanting to do this cocktail for ages for a couple reasons. First it’s made with two of my favorite ingredients, orange juice and vodka, and second it was supposedly named after a surfer based out of Manhattan Beach, which just happens to be the next town over from where I live. So why have I yet to share it here? Well, shortly after I discovered the cocktail I discovered there was a National Harvey Wallbanger Day. So, of course I thought I should do it on or around the cocktail’s special day. Unfortunately that day seemed to keep coming and going and I would never get around to making it. This year however, I’m right on time. So on time in fact that today, November 8th, is actually National Harvey Wallbanger Day.
picture courtesy of Summer Fruit Cup
Although the cocktail became super popular in the 70’s thanks to an advertising campaign from the Galliano marketing team, the cocktail was actually created in the late 50’s by Los Angeles mixologist Donato “Duke” Antone. The story goes that after a disappointing day on the waves, Tom Harvey, a local surfer, entered the famous Duke’s Blackwatch Bar and quickly downed one of Duke’s specialties – a screwdriver with a float of Galliano. After downing a few of the cocktails, Harvey tried to leave the bar. Unfortunately he kept running into things like the bar, the bar stools and the walls. Harvey Wallbanger soon became his nickname and a new drink was born.
It’s sad that this delicious drink, like several I’ve posted before it, have gone the way of the dodo. It really is just an enhanced screwdriver, and if you’re a screwdriver fan like me, you’ll definitely enjoy the Harvey Wallbanger. Instead of getting a straight citrus vodka concoction, the Galliano adds subtle hints of vanilla and anise, making this a more complex cocktail and one definitely worthy of a day all its own. So, instead of the same old margarita or screwdriver for your Friday happy hour, why not sample a Harvey Wallbanger? Who knows maybe you’ll enjoy it so much you’ll be walking into walls by the end of the night as well.
Harvey Wallbanger
Ingredients:
- 1 oz. vodka
- 4 oz. orange juice
- 1/2 oz. Galliano
Directions:
- Fill a collins glass with ice. Add the vodka and orange juice. Then, using a bar spoon, slowly add the Galliano so it floats on top. Garnish with a cherry and a slice of orange and serve.
So that’s how you make a Harvey Wallbanger cocktail. Looking at other Vodka Cocktails, it is essentially a Screwdriver with a Galliano twist. This Vodka Mixed Drink is a classic and should no doubt impress a few of your friends if you whip up a batch Harvey Wallbangers for them!