If you’re anything like me, you’ve spent the last week doing some serious festive indulging. Stuffing, roast potatoes, cheeseboards, chocolate and more than one or two Bailey’s! You might be feeling like even a classic white russian can’t tempt you right now.
I felt the same after sitting down to type this whilst in the midst of an extreme sugar coma. We’ve still got hogmanay (or NYE for my non-Scottish friends) to go though, so there’s plenty time left for cocktails!
If you’ve ever had a white russian before, you won’t need a recipe to tell you how to make it. It’s one of my favourite cocktails though, so I wanted to share how I like to make it.
White russians are particularly good in winter, I think. They’re also super simple to make, so perfect for serving at a festive party!
In all honesty, it’s a bit of a stretch to call this a classic white russian. Traditional recipes usually call for cream, but I find that just a bit too rich. I always go with whole milk which I find is still creamy but a little lighter.
If you’ve seen The Big Lebowski you might even recall that in one scene ‘The Dude’ uses powdered milk. I wouldn’t recommend straying that far from the original though…
In researching this I’ve discovered that there doesn’t really seem to be any one classic recipe. Some call for more coffee liquer, others prefer just a splash, and the cream/milk quantities vary from a tablespoon to about half of the total ingredients.
The best thing about a simple cocktail like the white russian is that you can easily adjust it for your preferences. There’s only 3 ingredients so it’s easy to experiment with quantities.
And if it takes you drinking 5 cocktails before you’ve perfected it? Well, that’s a sacrifice I’m sure you’ll be willing to make!
This is my last post for 2016, so I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the year and has a fantastic New Year’s Eve, however you’ll be spending it!
Ingredients
- 2 parts vodka
- 1 part kahlua (or other coffee liquer)
- 2 parts whole milk
Instructions
- Fill an old fashioned (short) glass with ice.
- Pour over the vodka and kahlua.
- Top with whole milk.
I love a white russian! Love your blog. Found it via Scottish Bloggers on Facebook. I’m away to drool over all the recipes.
Thanks for all your lovely comments Sandra!
Can you use almond milk?
I’ve never tried it with almond milk but it’s definitely worth a try!
I love you and and i love this drink
love this Classic White Russian Cocktail, seems so interesting , thanks for sharing this one.
Love it. My birthday is on the 18th feb am definitely going to be making this
Sad this new generation of bartenders. This is not a layered drink. Should be tossed or at the very least stirred. Bartenders job to “MIX” the drinks not the patron !! Old time bartender.