White Russian (cocktail)

White Russian

IBA official cocktail
An unstirred White Russian cocktail made with fresh milk
Type	Cocktail
Base spirit	Vodka Coffee liqueur
Served	On the rocks: poured over ice
Standard drinkware	Old fashioned glass
IBA specified ingredients†	5 cl Vodka 2 cl Coffee liqueur 3 cl fresh cream
Preparation	Pour coffee liqueur and vodka into an Old Fashioned glass filled with ice. Float fresh cream on top and stir slowly.
† White Russian recipe at International Bartenders Association

A White Russian is a sweet cocktail made with vodka, coffee liqueurs (e.g., Kahlúa or Tia Maria), and cream served with ice in an Old Fashioned glass. Milk, Half and half, or Baileys Irish Cream is often used as a substitute for cream.

Origin of the name

The traditional cocktail known as a Black Russian (first appearing in 1949) becomes a White Russian with the addition of cream. Neither drink is Russian in origin, but both are so named due to vodka being the primary ingredient. It is unclear which drink begat the other.

The Oxford English Dictionary refers to the first mention of the word "White Russian" in the sense of a cocktail as appearing in California's Oakland Tribune on 21 November 1965. It was placed in the newspaper as an insert: "White Russian. 1 oz. each Southern, vodka, cream."

Preparation notes

As with all cocktails, various modes of preparation exist, varying according to the recipes and styles of particular bars or mixologists. Most common varieties have adjusted amounts of vodka or coffee liqueur, or mixed brands of coffee liqueur. Shaking the cream in order to thicken it prior to pouring it over the drink is also common. Kahlúa is the brand of coffee liqueur most commonly associated with White Russians, mostly because it has become something of a genericized trademark for coffee liqueur. In Ireland, a popular variety of the drink consists of one part vodka, one part Kahlúa and four parts full cream milk shaken with ice and served in a tumbler glass on the rocks.

Variations

Many variants of the cocktail exist, both highly localized and widely known, such as a White Canadian (made with goat's milk instead of cow's milk), a Blind Russian (made with Bailey's Irish Cream instead of cream; the name Blind comes from the drink being made with all alcoholic ingredients), a White Mexican (made with horchata instead of cream), an Anna Kournikova (made with skim milk instead of cream), and a White Cuban (made with rum instead of vodka).

See also

• List of cocktails

External links

• 5 Different Variations Of The White Russian
• White Russians Arise, This Time at a Bowling Alley: New York Times article about the revival of the White Russian
• The White Russian Revolution: an article about White Russians and lactose intolerance