SiscoVanilla Has a Harvey Wallbanger Part I

Here's part two of my journey to the decade that I was born: The Seventies, as part of the Old Man Drinks cocktail challenge. As with my last post SiscoVanilla Has a Tequila Sunrise, I decided to focus on a cocktail that saw its heyday during the disco era: The Harvey Wallbanger.

Now I was too young to even know about the Harvey Wallbanger character, but according to cocktail history Harvey Wallbanger (the cartoon character) was created by ad-man Bill Young with the tagline “My name is Harvey, and I can be made.” Now the mythology on the name Harvey Wallbanger varies depending on the source.

The Old Man Drinks author Robert Schnakenberg states that the drink was created in 1952 by Los Angeles bartender Donato "Duke" Antone (who came up with such famous drinks as the Rusty Nail, the White Russian and the Godfather) at Duke's "Blackwatch" Bar on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.  Antone apparently named it after a drunk customer and surfer Tom Harvey who kept banging into the walls after having a few too many drinks. Sounds legit. Right? Well, it might not be so cut and dry.

According to the article How Three Classic Cocktails Got Their Names by Sam Dangremond from Town and Country dated July 20, 2015 Antone did create a cocktail known as the Duke's Screwdriver which had the same ingredients as the Harvey Wallbanger, I'll get back to this point in a few paragraphs. Until then, here's another story.

According to the article How the Harvey Wallbanger nearly killed the craft of cocktail making by Amy Zavatto of Fox News dated August 23, 2013:

Legend has it that a 1950s California surfer favored the drink and, one day after losing a pivotal surfing contest, walked into his usual Manhattan Beach watering hole, ordered his drink, and banged his head against the wall from the agony of defeat. His name was Harvey – and there you have it.

Ok. Now perhaps here is the true story. Robert Simonson in his December 14, 2012 article for Savuer entitled Searching for Harvey Wallbanger states that while Antone might have come up with the concept of what would become the Harvey Wallbanger aka the Duke's Screwdriver, credit for the name and character most likely belongs to McKesson Imports Co. McKesson Imports Co., was the company that represented Galliano here in the United States. With Galliano being one of ingredients in the Harvey Wallbanger, they decided to create the mascot and advertise the drink. It worked...to the tune of Galliano becoming the number one most imported liqueur at the time.

Regardless of the history, let's get to the cocktail itself.

As you can see from the image, I made the Harvey Wallbanger with Tito's Vodka, Orange Juice and Galliano. Here is where I screwed up. I didn't follow my advice from last post which was to use freshly squeezed juice whenever possible. I used store bought orange juice and to be honest, while there was a little added sweetness to it than with your standard screwdriver I couldn't tell if the cocktail had any Galliano. So the jury is still out on the Harvey Wallbanger until I can make another one using freshly squeezed orange juice. 

Here are my impressions on the drink upon tasting it:

I'll get back to Harvey soon enough. I also have a side post on Galliano itself coming up. Keep an eye out for it.

Until Then Happy Drinking,
SiscoVanilla

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SiscoVanilla Has a 🌅🍊Tequila Sunrise 🍊🌅

Welcome back folks to the next installment of SiscoVanilla Drinks. For today I'm going back to the 1970's with an offering from the Old Man Drinks cocktail book: The Tequila Sunrise. Before I go into the cocktail itself, I wanted to look into the varied histories of the cocktail. Apparently there are a few histories behind how this cocktail came to be.

The Old Man Drinks cocktail book mentions that this cocktail harks back to the Prohibition era in Tijuana, Mexico. According to author Robert Schnackenberg, the Tequila Sunrise came to life at the Agua Caliente Racetrack as a hangover cure for those who were betting on the ponies.

In his article How to Make a Tequila Sunrise from Esquire dated January 5, 2018, David Wondrich states that the cocktail was supposedly invented at the racetrack. For more on the Agua Caliente racetrack, check out the article The Glitter of Agua Caliente by Greg Niemann from BajaBound.com. But it doesn't quite finish there.

According to the post The Birth of the Tequila Sunrise from the Sahid Bartending Club dated October 27, 2013, a guide book called Bottoms Up! Subtitled El Catecismo del la Libacion was published and distributed throughout the property's bars and restaurants. In said book was the original recipe for the Agua Caliente's version of the Tequila Sunrise. Here it is:

THE TEQUILA SUNRISE
(recipe for 1 drink)

1. One jigger Tequila.
2. One half lime, squeezed. Insert peel.
3. EXACTLY six dashes grenadine.
4. EXACTLY two dashes Crème de Cassis.
5. Two lumps ice.
6. Serve in highball glass, filled to brim with healthful Agua Caliente "Roca Blanca" water. If not available, fizz with seltzer.
7. Stir slightly.

There is no Orange Juice as in the recipe we know today. On to origin story number 2.

Now we are in post-Prohibition Arizona at the Biltmore hotel. Now according to the article Just Another Tequila Sunrise by Jeff Burkhart from the National Geographic Assignment Blog dated on February 17th, 2012, the Biltmore states that their bartender Gene Sulit came up with the idea for the Tequila Sunrise during the 1930's. His cocktail consisted of tequila, lime juice, soda and crème de cassis. Burkhart states that he couldn't find any listing for this recipe in any of the cocktail books of the time and after. Aside from the grenadine, Sulit's recipe is very similar to the one listed above. Let's fast forward to the 1970's.

The third origin story takes us back to the Pacific Coast to the Northern California town of Sausalito. The story states that bartenders Bobby Lozoff and Billy Rice at the Trident came up with the Tequila Sunrise. It wasn't until the Rolling Stones arrived at the Trident in 1972 that the cocktail took off. Offering the drink to Mick Jagger, the cocktail became the go-to drink for the Stones across the country. To the point that one of the nicknames for their tour was the "cocaine and tequila sunrise tour." In stepped Lou, the manager of the Trident. For this I'll let Burkhart continue telling the story:

In 1973, Jose Cuervo seized on this new cocktail sensation and began marketing it in various print advertisements, eventually releasing it as one of their canned “club cocktails.”

“Lou, (the manager of the Trident) talked to the Cuervo people,” said Lozoff. “We were the biggest outlet in the United States, and they were talking to us – that recipe, with crème de cassis went on the back of bottles, and at one point our recipe made it on the back of the gold bottle.”

But don't take his word for it. Watch this video to hear the story being related straight from the mouths of those who lived it at the Trident:

The video states that the creme de cassis was removed for simplicity sake. Was Lozoff's version based on the above listed recipe from the Agua Caliente? Who really knows. Does it really matter? I'll leave that up to you. 

Add to the mix the Eagles song entitled Tequila Sunrise, which ironically isn't about the cocktail but about just drinking tequila until the sun rises. Nonetheless, the popularity of the song just further made the cocktail one of the go-to drinks of the 1970's. On to the cocktail itself. 

I decided to make the cocktail based on the current version that is found in cocktail books. Here is the cocktail and the recipe I used:

I followed the advice of David Wondrich by using freshly squeezed orange juice as opposed to using store bought OJ. While I've had the Tequila Sunrise in the past, I can't say that I've had one as light and tasty as the one I made for myself. I would certainly think that using the Espolon Reposado and fresh OJ over Jose Cuervo and store bought OJ made a big difference in the cocktail. It was simply delicious. 

The cocktail was light. The flavor of the tequila stood out without being too sweet, even with the presence of the grenadine. Always go fresh when you can with your juices folks. Here are my thoughts right after tasting the Tequila Sunrise from the SiscoVanilla YouTube Channel:

So for my next post I stay in the 1970's with the Harvey Wallbanger. I'll be posting my thoughts on that cocktail soon. Keep an eye out for it. And with that I leave 

Until Then Happy Drinking,
SiscoVanilla

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SiscoVanilla Drinks The Grumpy Old Man April 23, 2018

After a long work week, its time to start the Old Man Drinks Cocktail Challenge. Kind of feeling like a Grumpy Old Man so it would seem apropos that the first cocktail I pull out of the book is The Grumpy Old Man.

The cocktail is very simple and straight forward like most of the cocktails in the book. Here is the recipe:

Grumpy Old Man
2oz Knob Creek 100 proof Bourbon
1oz Fresh Lime Juice
Ginger Ale top

Pour Bourbon over ice. Then pour lime juice and top with Ginger Ale.

I really have to admit that this is one tasty cocktail. I find that the fresh lime juice is the game changer. It gives the cocktail a nice light feel both on the palate and on the nose. It smells amazing. But a few of these with the Knob Creek 100 proof bourbon is liable to put you on your ass, so be careful about sucking these down too fast. 

Here is the YouTube video I made taste testing the cocktail:

If you want to ramp up the cocktail, the author of the Old Man Drinks book Robert Schnakenberg recommends the following tweak:

Most recipes suggest you ratchet up the decrepitude even further by using Old Grand-Dad high-proof bourbon. Swap in some sour mix for the ginger ale, and you've got yourself a Grumpier Old Man. Come to think of it, that much sour mix would make a young man grumpy, too. 

Guess I have a bonus cocktail to work with Tuesday at Finn's Corner (660 Washington Avenue, corner of Bergen Street, Brooklyn NY 347-663-9316)

Until Then Happy Drinking,

SiscoVanilla

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SiscoVanilla Reads and Drinks From Old Man Drinks April 23, 2018

As I posted yesterday among a variety of my social media outlets, I'm reading the cocktail book Old Man Drinks: Recipes, Advice and Barstool Wisdom by Robert Schnakenberg. The book is a real pisser. The anecdotes given by the old dudes in the book are hilarious. Plus each recipe has a historical reference or tidbit. I highly recommend you give it a read.

So I've decided to give myself a challenge here. I'm going to try and make myself each and every drink in the book. Now some of the cocktails might be a bit difficult to make due to hard to find ingredients. But I'll do my best to recreate each and every cocktail. Not sure if I'm going to go in alphabetical order since I've already profiled a number of the recipes.

Look forward to trying some of the Old Man Drinks...now get off my lawn. 😉

Until Then Happy Drinking,

SiscoVanilla

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