Cocktail recipe
Black Russian
Dark coffee richness wrapped around cool, clean vodka—a minimalist after-dinner classic.
Ingredients
- 50 ml (1⅔ oz) vodka
- 20 ml (⅔ oz) coffee liqueur
- large ice cubes.
- Garnish: None required; optional expressed orange peel for a house accent.
Preparation
Fill a heavy rocks glass with clean ice. Add vodka, then pour coffee liqueur over it. Stir slowly until the liqueur and spirit become a single glossy, dark pour. Serve immediately, without cream; adding cream changes the drink into its White Russian relative.
Glassware
Old-fashioned glass
History
The widely repeated attribution names Gustave Tops, bartender at Brussels' Hotel Métropole, who reportedly prepared the drink for American diplomat and social figure Perle Mesta around 1949, when she served as US ambassador to Luxembourg. Cocktail historian Gary Regan recounts this association, but the precise original recipe and an independently verified contemporary invention record deserve caution. The name reflects vodka's association with Russia and the dark colour of coffee liqueur—not a claim that the cocktail originated in Russia. The White Russian later added cream and developed its own pop-cultural life.
Mixology View
Two ingredients demand quality. Keep it cold, not overly sweet, and let the coffee aroma lead. Link the White Russian as a related drink, never a substitute in exact-name search.