HOW TO MAKE THE WHITE RUSSIAN

The White Russian may have been famous thanks to the iconic film The Big Lebowski, but it’s been a classic cocktail since cream was first plonked into coffee. This creamy cocktail is super easy to make and still incredibly popular worldwide.

The Dude, Jeff Bridges’ character in The Big Lebowski, is not the only one who drinks White Russians. In fact, no one truly knows when heavy cream was added to the Black Russian.

The Black Russian drink was invented when Belgian Barman, Gustave Tops ,at the Hotel Metropole, mixed vodka with Kahlùa in honor of Perle Mesta, the U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg in the 1940s.

No one is quite sure when its sister cocktail came to be, but the classic White Russian cocktail continues to make them happy at Happy Hour, as an after dinner drink, or great holiday party drink as well.

What goes into a White Russian

Three main ingredients make up the classic White Russian recipe:

• Vodka: The first ingredient for this classic drink is vodka. I would use a main, flavorless vodka as the coffee adds such big flavors!
• Kahlùa: The primary ingredient for this recipe is Kahlùa. It is a coffee liquor that is has a sweet, rich, deep coffee flavor with a hint of caramel and vanilla.
• Heavy Cream: You can use any brand of heavy cream. It adds a rich and creamy texture to your drink-making it as smooth as the Dude.

Where to find ingredients for White Russian cocktails

You can find all the ingredients at Spirits Kiosk (10% off the entire site by quoting this code: ALushLife10SK.) in the UK; or Saucey.com in the USA!

What tools you need to make White Russian

You won’t be needing a cocktail shaker for this one! Grab a jigger, a barspoon, and a rocks glass for this White Russian recipe.

🍸Top Tip(le): Here are a variations when making White Russian.

• If you don’t have Kahlùa, you can use any good coffee liqueur.
• You can also use arabica coffee extract. For every 2 tablespoons of Kahlùa, you can use 1 teaspoon of coffee extract.
• You can use flavored vodka, like vanilla vodka, for this recipe as well.
• You can also use Bailey’s Irish Cream or Tia Maria instead of Kahlùa.
• If you don’t have heavy whipping cream, then you can use whole milk or even sheep or goat’s milk, and ice cream if you want to be decadent!
• You can skip the cream altogether, and have a Black Russian!

Here is the recipe!

Ingredients  

• 1 1/2 oz Vodka
• 3/4 oz Kahlùa
• 3/4 oz Heavy cream

Instructions 

• Add the Kahlùa and vodka to a rocks glass filled with ice
• Top up with the heavy cream
• Stir gently

Find a copy of the recipe here!  

Check out all my other cocktail recipes, how to set up your home bar, guides to where to find the best bars all over the world, or sign up to my free newsletter, and so much more on my website, A Lush Life Manual.

2025-01-10T11:06:43Z