Harvey Wallbanger Recipe

Harvey Wallbanger cocktail ingredients

This iconic disco-era drink is similar to a Screwdriver, except the original Harvey Wallbanger recipe gets a liqueur float on top of the vodka and orange. Galliano is a sweet Italian liqueur that’s got some exciting flavours. It’s made with alcohol steeped with vanilla, lavender, juniper, anise and cinnamon. The other ingredients for a Harvey Wallbanger are vodka and freshly squeezed orange juice. You’ll only add a small amount of Galliano to your Harvey Wallbanger cocktail recipe. That’s because of its strong flavour, but a little goes a long way and will transform your drink into a whole different experience.   

The Harvey Wallbanger (steps to make it)

Even though the Harvey Wallbanger drink recipe is very straightforward, it does leave room for a few common mistakes. So here are a few golden rules to remember when making your first Wallbanger.   

Always use fresh orange juice. You might be tempted to reach for the bottled stuff, but more often than not, they’re filled with sugar and are too sweet. Because the recipe uses a sweet liqueur, you don’t want to add extra sweetness. Freshly squeezed orange juice has the right balance of sweet, tangy and tart and perfectly matches the Galliano.   

Before making the Galliano float, mix together the vodka, ice and orange juice. Take a bar spoon and hold it over the drink, balancing the tip on the edge of the glass. Slowly pour the liquid over the back of the spoon to float it on top of the drink. The addition of the vanilla-forward liqueur is essential in the Harvey Wallbanger recipe because that’s what makes it taste similar to an orange creamsicle.   

Don’t shake Harvey around. This cocktail is best served as a stirred drink that lets all the flavours shine on their own.   

Why do they call the drink the Harvey Wallbanger?

We know. Strange name, right? So, what makes Harvey a Wallbanger? We’ve got two origin stories; you can choose the one you prefer to believe.    

• Duke’s Blackwatch Bar story: The first tale is that the original Harvey Wallbanger recipe was created in 1952 by legendary bartender Donato “Duke” Antone. He invented the drink and named it after a surfer (Tom Harvey), a regular at his bar. Apparently, after a few too many, Harvey kept banging into some walls, and the name was born. This is our favourite version of the truth, but unfortunately, there’s not a lot of evidence to back this claim.   
• The surfer story: Another claim is that back in the 70s, the marketing team at McKesson Imports Company were behind the fame of the Harvey Wallbanger. With the help of a graphic artist, they developed a cartoon figure which was used on posters and in advertising. Legend has it that the marketing team used this to sell Galliano. The then-famous tagline for the drink was “Harvey Wallbanger is the name. And I can be made!” Just like that, this simple cocktail became iconic, and Galliano became America’s number one imported liqueur.   

And there you have it.   

If you love the Harvey Wallbanger recipe as much as we do, serve it as the signature drink of your 70s theme party. Just make sure you dust off that forgotten bottle of Galliano before using it! 

The unique flavour of Galliano

This old-school Italian liqueur is bright yellow in colour and was invented in Tuscany in 1896. Sweet, complex, and vanilla-forward you’ll taste notes of anise, lavender, juniper, anise and cinnamon. A little bit goes a long way and will transform your drink into a completely different taste sensation. You can also enjoy Galliano neat after a meal or mix it into other cocktails like the Golden Dream.