The White Russian -- B&B Classic Cocktails

Want to drink like this guy? Then you gotta learn how to make a White Russian.


First, you assemble your ingredients. Vodka, coffee Liqueur, milk or cream, and ice. Have an old fashioned or a "double" glass.


Ice! This is named after a Russian after all.


Next, pour a shot of vodka and a shot of coffee liqueur over the ice. You can see the vodka has already been poured and the coffee liqueur is measured.


Now pour in your milk/cream. Some people like to pour it very gently to "layer" the white milk and dark liqueur. I don't care.


Stir. This step is why I don't bother "layering."


And we're done. I suggest leaving your ingredients out as you'll want to make another when you're done with that one.

Ah one of my favorite drinks.

Now, a few notes:

1. Milk vs. cream: Cream is smooth and luxurious. It makes the best white russian. But milk makes one that is almost as good without the hefty price tag of calories and fat.

2. Coffee Liqueur: Kahlua is the standard. And it's fine. But you can do a lot better. As you can see I am nearly out of it, so the next time I make a batch of my own I'll post a thread. Short version of the recipe: 1 part strong coffee to 1 part sugar. Bring to a boil. Once cooled, mix with an equal amount of vodka. The better the coffee you start with the better the end result.

3. Variations: Omit the milk/cream for a Black Russian. Do half milk and half cola for a Colorado Bulldog.

stobes21 said:

Now, a few notes:

1. Milk vs. cream: Cream is smooth and luxurious. It makes the best white russian. But milk makes one that is almost as good without the hefty price tag of calories and fat.

2. Coffee Liqueur: Kahlua is the standard. And it's fine. But you can do a lot better. As you can see I am nearly out of it, so the next time I make a batch of my own I'll post a thread. Short version of the recipe: 1 part strong coffee to 1 part sugar. Bring to a boil. Once cooled, mix with an equal amount of vodka. The better the coffee you start with the better the end result.

3. Variations: Omit the milk/cream for a Black Russian. Do half milk and half cola for a Colorado Bulldog.

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I'd like to try making coffee liqueur at some point. Any suggestions for what coffee to use or what vodka to use for a good liqueur?

xeemz said:

I'd like to try making coffee liqueur at some point. Any suggestions for what coffee to use or what vodka to use for a good liqueur?

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Coffee: go with what you like to drink. Since it gets diluted by the vodka (and then ultimately by whatever you're mixing it with) it should be pretty strong. I got real good results from a batch of cold brewed coffee in my Toddy. It was plenty strong, not at all acidic, and you don't miss the brightness of hot brewed coffee. I'm going to try drip brewed next time. We'll see how that works.

Vodka: this stuff is supposed to be tasteless and odorless. I don't know why some folks get so high and mighty about it and drop so much money on the stuff. I have been happy with Svedka, Finlandia, Stolichnya, and Smirnoff. I usually go with whichever of those brands is cheapest at the time. As you can see from pictures above, last time that was Svedka. Any of those will be perfectly fine for making coffee liqueur. Ultimately the vodka's job is just to add alcohol -- all the flavoring should come from the coffee and sugar.

A dolop of (real) vanilla or a quick steep of a half vanilla bean in your cooling coffee syrup will help the flavor as well.

This is one of my all-time favourite drinks.

It's soo good you almost feel dirty....


Regards.

Jakob

Love the Caucasian. I prefer Half-and-Half myself.

Speaking of The Dude, here is some work by a local artist that I picked up but haven't figured out where to hang up yet.

I hate beer because it tastes terrible. I will never get over the taste. However, the White Russian is something I thoroughly enjoy. Yummy! From the very first one I had, I've loved it.

Abagadro said:

Love the Caucasian. I prefer Half-and-Half myself.

Speaking of The Dude, here is some work by a local artist that I picked up but haven't figured out where to hang up yet.

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That is a very nice painting. I guess that's what artists can offer - paintings and the like.

But do you want a toe? I can get you a toe, believe me. I can get you a toe by 3 o'clock this afternoon... with nail polish.

xeemz said:

Ah one of my favorite drinks.

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Mine also!

I don't think I've had a White Russian since my early years in college and it was one of times when I have no chance of remembering what they actually taste like.

I drink these things once...That's all it took, it wasn't pretty.....I switched to JD on the rocks.

thirdeye said:

I drink these things once...That's all it took, it wasn't pretty.....I switched to JD on the rocks.

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I agree, I'm glad I can't remember what they taste like.

I love White and Black Russians. I do prefer my White Russians Layered though.

It's gotta be half and half for me.
Although I very rarely drink white russians anymore.
A few years back the discovery of white russians combined with a case of the winter blues led me to gain about 25 lbs over the course of half a winter.

The Dude was such an inspiration to me that, when the movie came out on VHS and I watched it daily, I bought crystal glasses that were dedicated to White Russians (and the occaisonal Black Russian) only...

If you really want to drink like the Dude, don't you swap out the milk for some powdered coffee whitener??

there is a bar in London that makes white russians with a quick pull from the Guinness tap. we dranks these a lot when I lived there.

Amen, one of my favorites.

Lol..whats next..make another glass, but even stronger cause ya know ya left somethin out!....