Name: Russian Cocktail
Total time: 2 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 45 ml Vodka; 22.5 ml Cherry brandy; 7.5 ml Kirschwasser

Ingredients

1 1/2 fl oz

Ketel One Vodka

3/4 fl oz

Cherry (brandy) liqueur

1/4 fl oz

Kirschwasser (cherry) eau-de-vie

How to make

Glassware

Prepare

Method

SHAKE all ingredients with ice.

FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish

Garnish with maraschino cherry.

Flavour Profile

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

Health & Nutrition

Nutrition:

One serving of Russian Cocktail contains 193 calories

Alcohol content:

1.5 standard drinks
26.1% alc./vol. (52.21° proof)
21 grams of pure alcohol

History

Believed to be the first vodka cocktail to appear in print, this first appears in a 1911 book, Beverages de Luxe, published in Louisville, USA. It is thought to have originated at the St. Charles Hotel in New Orleans, USA.

RUSSIAN COCKTAIL
A drink which is in the last year much appreciated in the Northern Part of Europe, and is lately introduced here, where it has proven to be appreciated by connoisseurs.
Three-fifths Vodka.
Two-fifths Ruhinoy (a Russian cherry cordial made of cherry stones).
Frappe and strained.
(This drink is very strong).

Beverages de Luxe, 1911

Comments & Discussion

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Janet Liles 5 months ago

This was disappointing. Pretty harsh. Unbalanced. I'm going to try tweaking it but it definitely needs something. Cherry and almond has always been a good combo.......

Leslie 9 months ago

Cherry Heering is vile. I keep looking for a recipe to use it up in, in the vain hope that some combination of ingredients will retain the cherry and remove the cough medicine aspect. We tried with the extra 15ml suggested below for the vodka, it didn’t do it. I’d try this again, reversing the proportions of Kirsch and Cherry Heering.

David Hoyle 6 months ago

Hi Leslie. Have you tried the classic "Singapore Sling"? The flavour you dislike may well be masked by the pineapple, orange and lime (or lemon) flavours. In The Guide, I personally come back to the recipe by Dale DeGroff, but there are other variants, too....

Dave D. 2 years ago

Very good drink. I had some less expensive Leroux Kirschwasser from long ago so wondering if a fine Kirsch might be better?

John CARR 2 years ago

Well shaken I found this dry and brisk- went down in three! Used sangue morlacco as it’s what I had. Not sure how it might impact the final result?

Miguel Perales 3 years ago

This was an "interesting" cocktail. Can definitely taste the cherries upfront with the almonds slightly present. Has slight herbal tones at the end (where from, I don't know. Maybe pepperiness from the Kirsh?) and was fairly dry and not sweet.

John Hinojos 3 years ago

This was perfect for the occasion. We were having a New Orleans style dinner and needed a cocktail. This was perfect. The tastes of the cocktail went with the spiciness of the food. Was concerned it may be a bit sweet, so we use 2 oz of vodka instead of 1 1/2. Was great.