National Be A Time Traveller Day / National Cappuccino Day / National HarveyWallbanger Day

NATIONAL PRETEND TO BE A TIME TRAVELLER DAY

 If you could time travel, would you go back in time or ahead in time? When/where in particular would you live to visit?

 I think I’d like to go back as I don’t like the way the world is headed. I like history so I might be enticed to go back to the “wild” west and see Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, Billy the Kid for a few names. You? Anyone want to go back to 1980?

 NATIONAL CAPPUCCINO DAY

 I’m not a coffee drinker. My folks never let us drink coffee and, to this day, I’ve never had a cup of coffee (other than once in a restaurant/bar I had some “Irish” coffee – coffee with Irish Whiskey.

National Cappuccino Day celebrates a frothy, hot cup of cappuccino. It’s a perfect drink on a frosty morning, meeting with friends or just to enjoy a creamy cuppa.

Traditionally prepared with espresso, hot milk, and steamed milk foam, a cappuccino is an Italian coffee drink.

The word cappuccino comes from the Capuchin friars and is the diminutive form of cappuccio in Italian, meaning hood or something that covers the head. This popular coffee beverage got its name not from the hood on their habits but from the color of the hooded robes that the friars wore. (The Capuchin friars is an Order of friars in the Catholic Church, among the chief offshoots of the Franciscans.)

·        In 1945 Achille Gaggia invented the modern espresso machine which further popularized the cappuccino.

·        The Mid 1990s – Cappuccino was made more widely available to North Americans as upscale coffee houses sprang up.

·        Late 1990′s to Early 2000′s – Cappuccinos became popular in the United States concurrent with the boom in the American coffee industry.

·        The start of the 21st Century – A modified short-cut version of the cappuccino started being served at fast-food chains.

·        While steaming the milk you must pay close attention to attain the correct ratio of foam, thus making the cappuccino one of the most difficult espresso-based beverages to make properly.

·        A skilled barista may create artistic shapes while he/she is pouring milk on top of the espresso coffee.

NATIONAL HARVEY WALLBANGER DAY

 Although I’ve never had a cup of coffee, I have had more than a few Harvey Wallbangers. National Harvey Wallbanger Day recognizes a fruity and spirited cocktail made with 3 parts ****, 1 part Galliano and 6 parts orange juice. Pour it into a highball glass and garnish it with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry.

In 1968 at a chili tasting in San Diego, Harvey Wallbangers were being served along with a story explaining the cocktail’s origin. According to the story, the remains of a Laguna Beach party included ****, Galliano, and orange juice. When the party-goers left, Harvey remained, banging his head against the wall.

Donato ‘Duke’ Antone

However, accepted lore credits the invention of the cocktail to the three-time-world-champion bartender, Donato ‘Duke’ Antone. He operated Duke’s Blackwatch Bar on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Over the years, Antone collected quite a few credits for famous beverages. As a bartender, his resume was impressive – inventor of the Rusty Nail, White Russian, and Flaming Russian. According to the bartending wizard, in 1952, a surfer named Tony Wallbanger inspired the cocktail. Perhaps, the party in Laguna Beach is a version of Antone’s. However, no one has been able to identify the inspirational surfer.

Harvey Wallbanger remained a quiet little secret in the San Diego area until around 1968. Then, William Young and George Bednar launched him (or it) onto the international scene. Marketing director for McKesson Imports Company (maker of Galliano), Bednar alongside graphic artist Bill Young, developed a successful marketing campaign. They created the Harvey Wallbanger character that exploded in late 1969 and the early 1970s.

Harvey Wallbanger is the name and I can be made! ~ 1969 Galliano marketing slogan

The drink’s name become a metaphor to describe someone who goofs off or makes mistakes. Often attributed to politicians or sports figures, it’s interesting to note, Harvey Wallbanger was frequently a write-in vote at election time.

 Do you have a favorite mixed drink? Mine would be – this is true – a “Bear-Fart”. A friend discovered this drink in Alaska – it has Jim Beam, Kalua and something else I can’t remember in a layered fashion. Also I like Mai-Tai(s).