National Harvey Wallbanger Day is observed annually on November 8, celebrating one of the most famous and culturally defining cocktails of mid-century American mixology. The drink was invented in 1952 by world-champion mixologist Donato 'Duke' Antone at the Blackwatch Bar on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Antone enhanced the simple Screwdriver (vodka and orange juice) by adding a float of Galliano L'Autentico—a vibrant yellow, sweet Italian herbal liqueur infused with Mediterranean anise, juniper, and vanilla. In the late 1960s, McKesson Imports marketing director George Bednar launched a brilliant cartoon mascot campaign featuring a relaxed California surfer named Harvey who banged into walls after too many drinks, transforming the cocktail into an international sensation that accounted for thousands of Galliano bottles sold worldwide in the 1970s.
National Harvey Wallbanger Day is observed annually on November 8, celebrating one of the most famous and culturally defining cocktails of mid-century American mixology. The drink was invented in 1952 by world-champion mixologist Donato 'Duke' Antone at the Blackwatch Bar on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Antone enhanced the simple Screwdriver (vodka and orange juice) by adding a float of Galliano L'Autentico—a vibrant yellow, sweet Italian herbal liqueur infused with Mediterranean anise, juniper, and vanilla. In the late 1960s, McKesson Imports marketing director George Bednar launched a brilliant cartoon mascot campaign featuring a relaxed California surfer named Harvey who banged into walls after too many drinks, transforming the cocktail into an international sensation that accounted for thousands of Galliano bottles sold worldwide in the 1970s.
