Harvey Wallbanger

Harvey Wallbanger

IBA Official Cocktail
Type	Mixed drink
Primary alcohol by volume	Vodka
Served	On the rocks; poured over ice
Standard garnish	orange slice and maraschino cherry
Standard drinkware	Highball glass
IBA specified ingredients*	4.5 cL (3 parts) Vodka 1.5 cL (1 part) Galliano 9 cL (6 parts) fresh orange juice
Preparation	Stir the vodka and orange juice with ice in the glass, then float the Galliano on top. Garnish and serve.
* Harvey Wallbanger recipe at International Bartenders Association

The Harvey Wallbanger is a mixed drink made with vodka, Galliano, and orange juice.

History

The Harvey Wallbanger appears in literature as early as 1971.^[1][2] The cocktail is reputed to have been invented in 1952 by three-time world champion mixologist Donato "Duke" Antone, and named by Antone after a surfer frequenting Antone's Blackwatch Bar in Los Angeles. However, recent research by culinary historians casts doubt on this theory. Robert Simonson goes so far as to say that "no sane person ever believed that story."^[3] Simonson emphasizes the lack of a historical record for any Blackwatch Bar, and indicates that, in fact, Antone lived in Hartford, Connecticut, rather than Los Angeles during the relevant period.^[4]

Other historians such as David Wondrich emphasize the role of McKesson Imports Company and its marketing team for developing the drink, confirming among other things that the company commissioned a graphic artist to develop a "Harvey Wallbanger" sandal-clad surfer mascot in the late 1960s.^[4] It is known that McKesson executive George Bednar was instrumental in promoting the drink as a means of selling its component Galliano liqueur, and Bednar claimed to have penned a popular tagline for the drink: "Harvey Wallbanger is the name. And I can be made!".^[5][6]

Other uses

• The 1982 Milwaukee Brewers, winners of the American League pennant, were nicknamed "Harvey's Wallbangers," because of the team's power hitting (wall banging) under mid-season manager Harvey Kuenn. After a mediocre 23–24 start to the season, manager Buck Rodgers was fired. Under Kuenn, the team went 72–43 (.626), led the Major Leagues in home runs and total bases, and produced the highest team OPS+ since the 1931 New York Yankees.^{[7][8][9][10][11]}
• The SAS sometimes referred to C4 explosive charges as "Harvey Wall-bangers."
• Harvey Wallbanger is sometimes used to refer to the Wall Follower maze solving algorithm.
• Harvey Wallbanger was the puppet character who ran the "dead-letter" post office on the Canadian children's show, The Hilarious House of Frightenstein.
• Harvey Wallbanger was the drink ordered by a character on the train in the 2010 movie Knight and Day with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.
• The Movie See No Evil, Hear No Evil includes the lines:

Do you like Harvey Wallbangers?
Harvey who?
Wallbangers, a friend of mine.
I'll introduce you later.

• In CB lingo, a Harvey Wallbanger is a drunk driver; specifically, one who continually drifts across the road from one shoulder to the other and back.

References

Notes

1. Commercial prints and labels: Volumes 21-26 by Library of Congress. Copyright Office in 1971
2. "Harvey Wallbanger is taking Bloody Mary's place at brunch; try a drink with Galliano." Sports illustrated, p. 9 (May 31, 1971).
3. Dangremond, Sam (July 20, 2015). "How Classic Cocktails got their name". Town & Country Magazine.
4. Simonson, Robert (December 14, 2012). "Searching for Harvey Wallbanger". Saveur Magazine.
5. "Obituary: George Bednar, 65, Was Successful Entrepreneur". News-Times (Danbury, CT). December 12, 2007.
6. Long, Sherry (December 11, 2007). "Area Cocktail King, Football Star Bednar Dies". Wilkes-Barre (PA) Times-Leader.
7. Lacy, J (1967) 'Mixologist Face the World with Confidence' The Hartford Courant; Hartford CT
8. Willis, J.C. (1973) Here's Practical Guide to Mixing Drinks: Hartford Times: Hartford Connecticut
9. Ryan, B. (1972) 'An Engaging Class Knows the Latest in Libation' The Hartford Times: Hartford CT
10. Linsley, C. (1972)'25 Years of New Bartenders' Hartford Times: Hartford CT.
11. Harvey Wallbanger Cocktail Recipe