Harvey Wallbanger Recipe: Screwdriver with Galliano

Harvey Wallbanger

Start with a Screwdriver, then pour a little golden Galliano over the back of a spoon so it rests on top. Every sip begins with vanilla and anise before the cold orange juice rushes in.

3.7Editors’ rating

Taste3.7

Balance3.6

Easy to make4.5

Popularity60

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GlassHighball glass

TechniqueBuilt in the glass

DifficultyEasy

Time2 min

StrengthMedium (approx. 13 % ABV)

OriginUnited States, 1950s

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Ingredients

1½ oz vodkae.g. Absolut · Smirnoff · Grey Goose · Ketel One · Belvedere
3 oz orange juice
½ oz Galliano L'Autentico floated on topBuy on Amazon →

Garnish: Orange slice and cherry · Ice: Ice cubes

Method

Fill a highball glass with ice.
Add vodka and orange juice and stir briefly.
Pour the Galliano slowly over the back of a bar spoon so it floats on top.
Garnish with an orange slice and a cherry.

Watch it made

Harvey Wallbanger

Taste

Juicy orange with a soft vanilla and anise finish. Light, sweet and easy to drink.

History and origin

The Harvey Wallbanger is essentially a Screwdriver with a Galliano float. One popular account credits the Los Angeles bartender Donato "Duke" Antone with creating it in the 1950s and naming it after a surfer called Harvey, who supposedly bumped into the walls after a few too many; the story is colorful but hard to verify.

What is well documented is its rise in the late 1960s and 1970s, driven by a marketing campaign for Galliano in the United States featuring a cartoon character named Harvey. The drink became one of the best-known cocktails of the decade and is on the International Bartenders Association's list of Contemporary Classics.

Bartender tips

Freshly squeezed orange juice makes a huge difference compared with carton juice.
Do not stir after the float; the first sip through the Galliano is part of the experience.
Keep the Galliano at 15 ml, as more quickly makes the drink taste like vanilla candy.