Black Russian

The Black Russian is a cocktail of vodka and coffee liqueur. It contains two parts vodka to one part coffee liqueur, per IBA specified ingredients. Traditionally, the drink is made by pouring the vodka over ice cubes or cracked ice in an old-fashioned glass, followed by the coffee liqueur.[1]

This article is about a cocktail. For African diaspora in Russia, see Afro-Russian. For other uses, see Black Russian (disambiguation).

Black Russian

IBA official cocktail
A Black Russian cocktail
Type	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume	Vodka
Served	On the rocks; poured over ice
Standard drinkware	Old Fashioned glass
IBA specified ingredients	5 cl Vodka 2 cl Coffee liqueur
Preparation	Pour the ingredients into an old fashioned glass filled with ice cubes. Stir gently.
Timing	After dinner
Black Russian recipe at International Bartenders Association

This combination first appeared in 1949 and is ascribed to Gustave Tops, a Belgian barman, who created it at the Hotel Metropole in Brussels in honor of Perle Mesta, then United States Ambassador to Luxembourg.[2] The cocktail owes its name to the use of vodka, a typical Russian spirit, and the blackness of the coffee liqueur.

Variations

• Dirty Black Russian, Tall Black Russian, Australian Black Russian or Colorado Bulldog: served in a highball glass and topped up with cola.[3]
• Black Magic: served with a dash of lemon juice and a lemon twist to garnish.[4]
• Irish Russian or Smooth Black Russian: served with a head of Guinness.[2][5]
• Brown Russian: served in a highball glass and topped with ginger ale.[6]
• Peri's Black Russian: served in a highball glass with vanilla flavored vodka and topped with cola.
• Vader: served with Jägermeister.
• California Russian: served with a shot of triple sec and a slice of orange.
• Belarusian or White Russian: served with milk or cream.
• Muddy Water or Blind Russian: served with Irish cream. If you add cream to this, it's called a Mudslide.

See also

• List of cocktails
• Vodka and cola
• White Russian
•  Liquor portal

References

1. "SpiritDrinks.com - Black Russian". SpiritDrinks. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
2. Regan, Gary (8 September 2008). "Behind The Drink: Black Russian". Liquor.com. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
3. "Tall Black Russian". Fluid Trade. Archived from the original on November 3, 2009. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
4. "Black Magic". in-the-spirit.co.uk. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
5. "Smooth Black Russian recipe". DrinksMixer.com. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
6. "Brown Russian". SpiritDrinks. Retrieved July 23, 2010.