Black Russian
Dark, bold, coffee-laced.
Vodka and coffee liqueur poured over ice: a pared-back drink, intense yet smooth. The neutral vodka steps aside for the roasted aroma of coffee.
- IBA · Contemporary Classics
- After dinner
- Built
- Glass
- Rocks glass
- Method
- Built
- Strength
- Strong
- Time
- 1 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Ice
- Cubes
Ingredients
Measures for 1 serving
-
Vodka
50 ml
-
Coffee liqueur
20 ml
Proportions
How to make
- Fill an old fashioned glass with ice.
- Pour the vodka.
- Pour the coffee liqueur.
- Stir gently.
The story
Origins
LegendA story passed down, not confirmed by the sources.
According to the most widespread version, the Black Russian was created in 1949 by Gustave Tops, bartender at the Hotel Métropole in Brussels, in honour of Perle Mesta, the American socialite then serving as US ambassador to Luxembourg. This attribution, repeated by many sources, is not supported by period documents. The earliest printed mentions found so far are American: in 1956 the San Francisco Examiner described the drink, vodka and Kahlúa over ice, crediting one Jack Falvey, and in 1957 it appeared in a Kahlúa advertisement in the Los Angeles Times. The Belgian story therefore remains a tradition rather than a certainty.
Taste profile
- Strong
- 4 out of 5
- Sweet
- 3 out of 5
- Bitter
- 2 out of 5
