Harvey Wallbanger

Nothing matches it exactly. Licor 43 gets closest on the vanilla and comes cheap, but it has no anise, so add two drops of pastis or a tiny pour of Sambuca alongside it. Strega is herbal enough to work but pushes the drink toward saffron and bitterness.

L'Autentico, at 42.3 percent, is the one this drink was built around: vanilla up front with anise and herbs behind it. The Vanilla bottling sits near 30 percent and tastes softer and more like dessert. Either works, but the lower-proof version disappears into 120 ml of orange juice.

Its density sits very close to orange juice, so the layer is fragile by nature. Pour slowly over the back of a bar spoon onto a still, well-chilled drink and it holds for a minute or two. After that it folds in by itself, which costs you nothing.

It changes the drink more than the vodka does. Cartoned juice is sweeter and flatter, and against 15 ml of a sugary liqueur that tips the glass into dessert. Squeezed oranges bring acidity and a bitter trace of peel oil that gives the Galliano something to sit against.

A classic Harvey Wallbanger calls for 45 ml (1.5 oz) Vodka, 120 ml (4 oz) Orange juice, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Galliano. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

A standard Harvey Wallbanger is roughly 14% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it about as strong as a glass of wine.

A Harvey Wallbanger is built directly in the glass over ice — no shaker required. Add the ingredients in order and give it a brief, gentle stir.