Harvey Wallbanger


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. 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." 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.
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. 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!".

Other uses