White Russian (cocktail)
- This article is about the alcoholic beverage. For other meanings, see White Russian.
A White Russian is a sweet cocktail made from vodka, Kahlúa or other coffee liqueur such as Tia Maria, and milk or cream, in an old-fashioned glass with ice.
Basic Recipe
- 1 part vodka
- 1 part coffee liqueur
- 1 part milk or light cream
Pour over ice in a tall or old-fashion glass; stir lightly.
Common Alternatives
The most common alternative involves using 2 parts vodka instead of 1. The amount of cream to be used varies from just a splash to 3 parts or more, depending on how hard of a drink is to be served; in a typical 7oz rocks glass filled with ice and 2 shots of alcohol, there is usually only room for 1 part cream or less.
Preparation Notes and History
Keeping the vodka chilled in a freezer (remaining liquid due to the alcohol content) helps keep the drink cold, allowing less ice to be used. Although it is the most commonly used coffee liqueur use in White Russians, Kahlúa is very syrupy and flavored of Mexican coffee, so using alternative coffee liqueurs or a mixture of coffee liqueurs is a good way to customize a White Russian to fit the taste of the drinker, or to create a distinctive White Russian recipe for a particular bar. Using cream instead of milk produces a smoother, richer beverage, somewhat masking the bite of poor quality alcohol, though the drink is still smoother with well distilled vodka. The cream can also be shaken alone with ice until it begins to thicken, then poured over coffee liqueur, vodka, and ice in order to make the drink richer.
The drink is usually mixed by first pouring vodka into the ice-filled glass, then coffee liqueur, then cream. It can then be served immediately with a straw included for the drinker to mix it. It can also be lightly shaken in a cocktail shaker (one or two shakes is enough) or stirred in its own glass by the bartender. Home drinkers sometimes tap the ice with their fingers to mix the drink.
The drink is not traditionally Russian, but is so named due to vodka being a key ingredient. The "White Russians" were an anti-Bolshevik group from the Russian Civil War.
Other preparations
- A Black Russian is a White Russian with no cream. It is composed of vodka and coffee liqueur, on the rocks. Also a Tall Black Russian can be made by adding cola in a tall glass.
- An Irish Russian, sometimes referred to as a Smooth Black Russian or (mistakenly) Black Irish, can be made by preparing a Tall Black Russian but topped with enough Guinness to give it a head.
- A Black Irish can be made by stirring 3 parts Irish whiskey, 1 part Kahlua over ice. Garnished with a Maraschino cherry.
- A "Russian Bulldog" is a White Russian with cola to taste.
- A Colorado Bulldog is a White Russian made with vanilla vodka with cola to taste.
- A White Cuban is a White Russian in which the vodka is replaced with rum.
- A White Canuck is a White Russian served with Polar Ice Vodka and two maraschino cherries, popularized at Barney's in London, Ontario in the late 1990s.
- A Russian Yoo-Hoo is similar to the White Russian, but replaces the milk with Yoo-Hoo Chocolate Drink.
- A Twiz Twist is similar to the White Russian, but replaces the milk with licorice extract.
- A Bolshevik or Blonde Russian is another variation in which the cream is replaced with Irish Creme liqueur, typically Baileys Irish Cream.
- A Cocaine Lady is like a Blonde Russian, but with peppermint liqueur and milk
- A Larry's White Russian is a White Russian with coconut flavoured white rum (typically Malibu Rum) added.
- A White Canadian is a White Russian made with goat's milk instead of cow's milk.
- A White Vegan is a White Russian made with soy milk instead of cow's milk.
- A Brown Russian is similar to the Russian Yoo-Hoo, but instead of Yoo-Hoo you use milk with powder chocolate, preferable O'boy.
- A White Meseta is a White Russian topped off with a shot of bourbon, preferably Maker's Mark.
- A Dirty Russian is similar to the Russian Yoo-Hoo, but instead of Yoo-Hoo you use milk with chocolate syrup.
- An Anna Kournikova is a White Russian made with skim milk.
- A Colin Powell is a White Russian made with chocolate milk.
- A Mikhail Gorbachev is a White Russian topped with a sprinkling of chocolate sauce on the head.
- A Yellow Russian is a White Russian in which the cream/milk is replaced with egg nog.
Cultural references
- White Russians are the favored drink of "The Dude" in The Big Lebowski (where it is often jokingly referred to as a "Caucasian").
- In the movie Catwoman, the title character orders a White Russian with no vodka, no ice, and no Kahlúa, making it simply a glass of cream/milk.
- White Russians also gave name to professional wrestler The Sandman's finishing move, the White Russian Leg Sweep.
- White Russian was a popular flavor of Ben and Jerry's ice cream, although its production was halted. The ice cream was based on the flavor of the drink, and included kahlua flavoring.
- The codename for OpenWrt version 1.0-5.0 is White Russian