| This drink is designated as an IBA Official Cocktail |
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| Harvey Wallbanger | |
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| Type: | Cocktail |
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| Primary alcohol by volume: | |
| Served: | "On the rocks"; poured over ice |
| Standard garnish: | orange slice and maraschino cherry |
| Standard drinkware: |
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| IBA specified ingredients†: |
4.5cl (3 parts) Vodka 1.5cl (1 part) Vanilla Galliano 9cl (6 parts) Fresh orange juice |
| Preparation: | Mix the vodka and orange juice in the glass, then float the Vanilla Galliano on top. Garnish and serve. |
The Harvey Wallbanger is an alcoholic beverage or cocktail made with vodka, Galliano, and orange juice.
Contents |
History
1950s
First concocted in the 1950s, this well known tipple was one of many cocktails invented by the renowned two-time world champion mixologist (and Dean of Bartending School of Mixology Inc.) Donato “Duke” Antone. Other notable “Duke” creations are the Rusty Nail, the Godfather, the Italian Fascination and the Flaming Caesar. According to legend, Harvey was a California surfer. After losing an important contest, he consoled himself in Duke’s Hollywood Blackwatch bar with one of his “special” Screwdrivers (a screwdriver with a dash of Galliano liqueur). After several drinks, he tried to leave the bar, but unfortunately kept bumping into the furniture and walls. Harvey “the Wallbanger” became his nickname and the famous drink was named. Another popular belief about the origin of the drink’s name comes from one of its ingredients, Galliano. The bottle for Galliano is quite tall and slender, thus many barkeeps would store the Galliano against the wall on the shelf. When bartenders would return the bottle back to its spot, the bottle would wobble and “bang against the wall,” hence the name “wallbanger.”
1960–1971
The Harvey Wallbanger cocktail was very big in Manhattan Beach, California in the late 1960s. George Bednar, newly named advertising manager for 21 Brands, the importer of Galliano, was visiting the brand’s California distributor and noticed that sales of Galliano were going through the roof in Manhattan Beach, but were virtually dormant everywhere else. When he asked about this, he was told that a couple of bartenders in Manhattan Beach were making this drink popular. George personally visited the bars, talked to the bartenders and had tee shirts promoting the drink made and distributed to customers. As he visited other bars in California, Oregon and Washington he suggested to bartenders that they promote this drink to see what would happen. It immediately was very popular wherever it was promoted. Back in New York he had his design people create the Harvey Wallbanger image and the tag line—“My name is Harvey Wallbanger and I can be made”—followed by the recipe. He then introduced the drink to a national audience in 1970 with a promotion aboard TWA’s new 747 plane’s cocktail lounge, which was standard in the early years of the 747. The drink became so popular that Harvey Wallbanger got thousands of write-in votes in the next presidential election—possibly because of the release of thousands of Harvey Wallbanger for President [lapel] pins. When word reached the rest of the spirits industry that 21 Brands did not have ownership of the name Harvey Wallbanger, 21 Brands immediately stopped promotion of the drink in 1971 and sales began to slow and eventually stopped. A relative of this drink is the Freddy Fudpucker, which uses tequila instead of vodka.
