This one is a throwback to the late 1970s. Thanks to excessive pop culture references on "The Love Boat", "Three's Company", "Barney Miller", and "Welcome Back Kotter", the Harvey Wallbanger became a running joke. If Cutty Sark on the rocks was for a tough guy like Mannix, then the Harvey Wallbanger was for a schlub like Michael Stivic.
By the time I first ordered one at a bar (well after the 1907s were blessedly in the rear view mirror), the Harvey Wallbanger was like a mother-in-law joke told by a borscht belt comic making his twelfth appearance on the Johnny Carson show. I had an urge to satisfy a lingering curiosity about the drink. I did, but it was disappointing. To be honest, I couldn't taste the difference between a Harvey Wallbanger and a regular screwdriver. The galliano added no particular flavor that I could discern.
Upon reflection, maybe that was the whole point. Adding a jolt of a sweet, 80 proof liqueur would up the impact of the drink without upping the bite of the vodka or changing the flavor of the orange juice much.
The drink with the funny name that gets you drunk quick. Behold the Harvey Wallbanger - may it rest in peace.
||| Comments are welcome |||
Help keep the words flowing.
By the time I first ordered one at a bar (well after the 1907s were blessedly in the rear view mirror), the Harvey Wallbanger was like a mother-in-law joke told by a borscht belt comic making his twelfth appearance on the Johnny Carson show. I had an urge to satisfy a lingering curiosity about the drink. I did, but it was disappointing. To be honest, I couldn't taste the difference between a Harvey Wallbanger and a regular screwdriver. The galliano added no particular flavor that I could discern.
Upon reflection, maybe that was the whole point. Adding a jolt of a sweet, 80 proof liqueur would up the impact of the drink without upping the bite of the vodka or changing the flavor of the orange juice much.
The drink with the funny name that gets you drunk quick. Behold the Harvey Wallbanger - may it rest in peace.
||| Comments are welcome |||
Help keep the words flowing.
I think the name encourages jokes. Harvey's a name that says "the 40s," jaunty hats, and funky suits. The mental image of a drunken Harvey veering into a wall is always amusing. Maybe the bloodshot eyes and red nose aren't from drinking, but rather a few too many hard impacts with a vertical surface that wasn't there just a second ago…
ReplyDeleteIt's a pretty goofy name. Also, the drink was promoted by people with financial ties to the companies that made Galliano. When the drink began to be made with any sweetened liqueur (and not specifically Galliano), they lost their financial bump, and so lost interest in it.
DeleteI remember hearing that drink used in movies and shows, but I never knew what was in it. So it's basically just a screwdriver, huh?
ReplyDeleteYeah, pretty much. The Galliano makes it a tiny bit smoother and sweeter, but not enough to be worth bothering with.
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