ETHANOL

SCREWDRIVER

Oil-worker legend, 1940s.

HIGHBALL
ETHANOL 19 G131 KCAL FROM ETHANOL6.3 OZ SERVED

SPEC

2 oz · 60 mlVODKA40 %
4 oz · 120 mlORANGE JUICE

1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.

METHOD

  1. 01FILL HIGHBALL WITH ICE
  2. 02ADD VODKA, TOP WITH ORANGE JUICE
  3. 03GARNISH WITH ORANGE SLICE

1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.

STRENGTH // WORKED

Pre-batch6 oz mixed with ice, 0.8 oz of it pure alcohol
MeltBuilt in the glass: +5 % of the pre-batch, +0.3 oz of water
Served6 + 0.3 = 6.3 oz in the glass
Strength0.8 ÷ 6.3 = 12.7 % ABV as served
Ethanol0.8 oz × 29.57 ml × 0.789 g/ml = 19 g · about 131 kcal from the alcohol alone

IN THE GLASS

FURFURAL

FROM VODKA GRAIN TRACE · the toasted/caramel note

Formula
C₅H₄O₂
Mass
96.08 g/mol
IUPAC
furan-2-carbaldehyde

The toasted-almond / caramel note in aged port, madeira, and amontillado sherry, formed when sugars in the wine slowly oxidize during long oxidative cask aging. Also in roasted coffee, baked bread, and any food that's been browned through Maillard chemistry. The deeper the toast on a bourbon barrel, the more furfural extracts into the spirit; the longer the madeira sits in the estufa, the more accumulates.

PUBCHEM ↗

ALSO IN Vodka Soda · Vodka Cranberry · Bloody Mary · Bloody Caesar · Black Russian · White Russian · Lemon Drop · Kamikaze

CITRAL

FROM ORANGE JUICE · the lemon aroma

Formula
C₁₀H₁₆O
Mass
152.24 g/mol
IUPAC
(2E)-3,7-dimethylocta-2,6-dienal

Lemon's defining note: technically a mix of two geometric isomers (geranial and neral) that read as the same aroma to the nose. Lemon peel, lemongrass, lemon verbena, and Indian chai all carry it. In cocktails it's what a lemon twist contributes that lemon juice can't: the volatile expressed from the oil glands, not the acid from the pulp.

PUBCHEM ↗

ALSO IN Margarita · Mojito · Daiquiri · Whiskey Sour · Gimlet · Moscow Mule · Paper Plane · Aviation

CHEMISTRY

Vodka and orange juice. Fructose and citrus oils bury the ethanol entirely, with the juice outweighing the spirit two to one. The vitamin C changes nothing about the ethanol; that part is folklore.

PROVENANCE

American oilfield engineers stationed in Iran during World War II reportedly mixed vodka into their orange juice using a screwdriver, the only stirring implement on hand. The name stuck. A Galliano float later made the Harvey Wallbanger, a late-1960s hit; the unadorned screwdriver remained the bar canonical.

VODKA // NEARBY

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