The Harvey Wallbanger

 The Harvey Wallbanger

- jim Young

This recipe is from “Chapter 5: Common Cocktails” of my new book “Belly up to the Bar, Cocktails for Two”.

In addition to cocktail recipes, as you will read below I try to provide a bit of the background of the origins of the cocktails along with some personal anecdotes and family stories.

If you’re interested in purchasing a copy of “Belly up to the Bar”, it’s available on Amazon or you can contact me at dogonaroot@gmail.com

The Harvey Wallbanger was a popular cocktail I discovered in bars in the 1970s when I first came of drinking age. It’s too bad that it’s not as readily available as it once was, but there’s no reason you can’t make them at home. 

Harvey Wallbanger (2.5)

Stuff You'll Need:

1 oz Vanilla Liqueur

1½ oz Vodka

Chilled Orange Juice

Slice of Lemon

Do This:

1. Pour Vodka and Vanilla Liqueur over ice cubes in a highball glass.

2. Top with Orange Juice.

3. Gently stir.

4. Garnish with a slice of lemon.

The Harvey Wallbanger was named in the 1950s for a California surfer named Tom Harvey who, after winning a surfing competition, staggered from bar to bar, banging his surfboard against the walls after drinking too much of his favourite drink, a Screwdriver mixed with Vanilla Liqueur.

Alcohol and surfing don't mix... but Vodka,
OJ & Vanilla Liqueur make a GREAT mix!

This is one of my older sister Kathy’s favourite drinks. What can make a cocktail a favourite sometimes has as much to do with the memories of the people you are with as it does the qualities of the cocktail itself. For this reason Kathy never makes a Harvey Wallbanger just for herself.

“The thing is, it is a drink that besides enjoying the taste, triggers good memories for me,” Kathy says. “I only seem to drink it when I am with special people."

Our cousin Gary introduced Kathy to not just the Harvey Wallbanger but also her husband Ken. The Harvey Wallbanger became a Boxing Day tradition for Kathy, Ken and Gary to enjoy while Ken and Gary engaged in a game or two of chess.

In later years, Kathy also enjoyed Harvey Wallbangers when visiting our sister Leah. While their children swam in Leah’s pool, Leah would serve the drinks in chilled copper cups traditionally used for serving Moscow Mules.

As both our cousin Gary and our sister Leah passed away far too early I have picked up the torch in an attempt to help Kathy make even more Harvey Wallbanger memories on those “nights we won’t remember with friends we won’t Forget.” 1

1 “Friends We Won’t Forget” written by Marshall Brent Morgan II