Name: White Russian Cocktail
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 60 ml Vodka; 30 ml Coffee liqueur; 30 ml Cream

White Russian Cocktail
Jump to

Serve in an Old-fashioned glass

Ingredients:
2 oz	Ketel One Vodka
1 oz	Galliano Espresso Coffee liqueur
1 oz	Single cream/half-and-half

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill an Old-fashioned glass.
Prepare garnish of freshly grated nutmeg.
STIR first 2 ingredients with ice.
STRAIN into ice-filled glass.
Carefully FLOAT cream. (Lightly whip or shake sealed container before pouring cream to aerate.)
Garnish with dusting of nutmeg grated over cocktail.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Single cream/half-and-half - Dairy

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

White Russian Cocktail lifestyle thumbnail

Review:

One of the best-known cocktails of the modern era, the White Russian, consists of vodka and coffee liqueur served on the rocks, sipped over a silky layer of cream or milk.

A White Russian can be as simple as equal measures vodka, coffee liqueur and fresh cream poured over ice. However, it looks better if you stir at least the first two ingredients and then layer cream on the surface of the drink (as above). Or, some prefer to shake all three ingredients to make a properly integrated cocktail.

View readers' comments

Variant:

Black Russian - without cream.
Anna Kournikova - named after the blond Russian tennis player and made with skimmed/low-fat milk.
Blind Russian - with Irish cream liqueurr in place of cream. The 'blind' references the drink being made from all alcoholic ingredients.
Blonde Russian - an alternative, slightly more p.c. name for the above.
Colorado Russian - equal parts cream and cola.
Flat White Martini - Equal parts Irish cream, vodka and espresso shaken and served 'up'.
White Belgian - made with chocolate liqueur instead of coffee liqueur.
White Canadian - made with goat's milk.
White Cuban - based on rum instead of vodka.
Dirty Russian - made with chocolate flavoured milk.

History:

Named due to its appearance and vodka base. Smirnoff and Stolichnaya were the main vodka brands at the time, so vodka was associated with Russia.

The White Russian is obviously related to the Black Russian whose origins are thought to date from 1949. However, who first came up with this creamy interpretation and when is unknown.

Mention of the White Russian cocktail in print first appeared in an advertisement for a now long-defunct coffee liqueur called 'Coffee Southern', which ran in the Boston Globe on 21st March 1965, then in California's Oakland Tribune on 21 November 1965. Along with the White Russian, the "Try delicious Coffee Sothern" advert also gives the recipes for 'Coffee and Cointreau', 'Southern Grasshopper' and 'Java Sundae' using the liqueur.

The White Russian strutted its way through the 1970s disco era before its popularity waned in the 80s, only to be rescued and made more popular than ever after being the libation of choice of The Dude in the cult 1998 movie The Big Lebowski. Played by Jeff Bridges, throughout this comedy caper film, Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski has little interest or passion for anything other than bowling and drinking White Russians, which he calls a "Caucasian". Over the duration of the film, The Dude consumes seven of the creamy cocktails.

Nutrition:

One serving of White Russian Cocktail contains 286 calories

Alcohol content:

1.7 standard drinks
20.22% alc./vol. (20.22° proof)
24.3 grams of pure alcohol

More Classic/vintage cocktails
More Creamy (e.g. Dirty banana) cocktails
More Hall of Fame & must know/try cocktails

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

Join the discussion

Showing 10 of 13 comments for White Russian Cocktail.
See discussion in the Forum

Please log in to make a comment

Jennie Fossland

7th March at 00:28

I make a White Cuban (with dark rum, Kahlua and half&half) whenever I feel a sore throat coming on. Almost inevitably, there is no trace of a sore throat the next day! (Just hoping to balance the youthful nostalgia with an old lady's perspective!) Looking forward to trying the Galliano Espresso Liqueur.

Justin Aniello

1st March at 01:07

Probably the first cocktail I ever had and a favorite of mine in my younger days. First time making it per the original recipe with a cream floater instead of mixed with milk. Nice and velvety, though I think I still prefer my standby of putting some milk in a glass and varying amounts of vodka and coffee liqueur until sufficiently nostalgic.

Rob Simpson

14th August 2024 at 06:51

Wouldn't the "flat white Martini" mentioned properly be an espresso martini variant rather than a white russian? I feel like an actual shot of espresso puts it in e.m. territory immediately even before you consider it's served Up and doesn't even contain a coffee liqueur

Rob Simpson

14th August 2024 at 07:04

To clarify, feel that it's possible to swap out the "sweetening agent" in an espresso martini and still keep the integrity of the drink basically intact but as a white russian is just a black russian variant, and a black russian is vodka+coffee liqueur by definition, seems to me it's possible to lose the kahlua in an espresso martini but not really in any kind of "... russian"

Yorey C

22nd July 2024 at 22:24

a bit too dry with mr black, but that's a good thing, you can use cheaper liqueurs.

Joe Cornwall

8th March 2024 at 14:52

Split the base between vodka and gin. I used Bombay Sapphire but I think any modern gin would work well. That variation added a wonderful sparkle and richness to the flavor of this classic cocktail.

Robert Lundgren

30th March 2024 at 20:46

Thanks for The tip. Tried it when i just had 3cl Vodka left. Worked very good! The nutmeg on top is a Nice touch 👍

Antti Ylänen

5th March 2024 at 22:38

Nothing takes you back to being 18 and in a nightclub for the first time more than this. Love it and hate it at the same time. Bit of grated nutmeg on top makes it top notch.

Steven Cook

4th January 2024 at 23:40

White Russians, and White Cubans are perfect for when you want to feel decadent without too much effort! One fun variation is one part each vodka, white rum, Kahlua and amaretto, with your preferred amount of cream, I usually use 2-3 parts. The almond flavour adds another enjoyable note.

JACQUELINE KIRK

8th April 2023 at 16:42

We have a new variation for 2023 from the US. The Indictment Cocktail. All the same White Russian ingredients but with a thin orange skin garnish, as well as some bling bling gold leaf to class it up!

Matthew Allan

21st January 2023 at 17:23

The written instructions say 'stir' but the video says 'shake'?

Simon Difford

22nd January 2023 at 10:55

It's an old video which I'll delete ahead of replacing it. Better stirred rather than shaken.

Ant Hern

10th January 2021 at 01:39

I was 18 when The Big Lebowski came out... so this instantly became one of my favourite drinks. Also love how “The Dude” sometimes refers to it as a “Caucasian”