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Notes: |
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Notes: The Story of the Harvey Wallbanger
As with many cocktails, there are a couple of claims to the creation of the Harvey Wallbanger.
One is that it may have been created as one of those "all I got left in the bar" drinks. Supposedly, the host of a party in the mid-60s had only vodka, orange juice, and Galliano available. After a couple of these drinks, a guest named Harvey was found to be banging his head against the wall and cursing the drink that caused him his misery.
That's a fun story, but it's not very believable. The accepted truth attributes the Harvey Wallbanger's creation to Donato "Duke" Antone who owned Duke's Backwatch Bar in Hollywood. It was at this joint on Sunset Boulevard in 1952 that Antone created the cocktail. He named it after a local surfer and bar regular named Tom Harvey.
It was not until the late 1960s that a marketing director for the company importing Galliano 'discovered' the drink. George Bednar created a surfer-themed ad campaign with the tagline " "Harvey Wallbanger is the name and I can be made!" By the time the disco era began, the drink was on everyone's lips.
Of course, the story is more complicated than that and it is not without its faults. There's a very detailed account by Robert Simonson on Saveur: Searching for Harvey Wallbanger.
The 70s may have been the cocktail's glory days, but little gems like the Harvey Wallbanger are unforgettable.
In truth, it's one of the best drinks to come out of the era. Though it was likely created before disco, other drinks of the time did not give the decade a good reputation. Some in the bartending community even call the 70s the "Death Valley of Cocktails."
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This recipe for Harvey Wallbanger is from