It’s not from Russia and it’s not (technically) white. So why do we call it that?
Black and White Russians have been cocktail bar staples for many years, but where do they get their names from? The Black part was credited to the addition of coffee, which made the drink dark and white comes from the addition of cream. Russian, because well, Russians love Vodka almost as much as we love our stereotypes! The White Russian had a resurgence following The Big Lebowski where it was the Dude’s preferred choice of drink. 24 years later, it’s still a favourite and it’s here to stay!
Traditionally, a White Russian is made of coffee liquor, vodka and cream and it’s said that you should never measure it – just eyeball the measurements. While that’s true, for the uninitiated, a base recipe can always be helpful. This recipe uses brewed coffee instead of coffee liquor and instead of the cream, we’re going to use coconut milk. As you know, the Keralite in me loves anything to do with coconuts so I thought why not add a little bit of Kerala to the White Russian. Perhaps we can call this drink a White Malayali then?
Dairy-Free Choices
Jokes aside, I love using coconut milk because it makes the drink vegan! You could use cashew milk or almond milk as well but I do love the flavour the coconut milk adds to the cocktail. You don’t need thick coconut milk for it, a light one will do but coconut milk does tend to clump up a little bit when it hits the ice. It’ll still taste great, but if you’re after aesthetics then you can add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake until it’s smooth.
Regalia Brew Machine
The kind of coffee you use for this cocktail makes all the difference. While the coffee this recipe calls for might be a regular brew, there’s nothing regular about the Wonderchef Regalia Brew Coffee Maker you can make it in. In a house of many, many coffee drinkers, this machine saves us so much time! The Regalia delivers big, bold flavour in a petite machine that would fit atop your kitchen counter no matter your space constraints. It’s got an anti drip valve so you can even stick this in your office room without any worries of coffee stains getting everywhere. Wonderchef also has these amazing instructional videos on how to use their machines that can really come in handy for first-timers.
RECIPE CARD
Serves: 1
Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
- 60 ml Vodka
- 60 ml Brewed Coffee (Cooled)
- 1 Tbsp Simple Syrup
- 90 ml Coconut Milk (Or to taste)
- Ice
Method:
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add the simple syrup, vodka, coffee and coconut milk.
- Shake well for about 40 seconds.
- Add some ice to an old fashioned glass.
- Strain the cocktail into the glass and serve.
- Enjoy Dude!
Author: Sneha Sundar is the creator of You Dim Sum, You Lose Some; a philosophy she adopts both in and out of the kitchen.
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