The Black Russian is a cocktail of vodka and coffee liqueur. It contains either three parts vodka and two parts coffee liqueur, per the Kahlúa bottle's label, or five parts vodka to two parts coffee liqueur, per IBA specified ingredients. Traditionally the drink is made by pouring the vodka over ice cubes or cracked ice in an old-fashioned glass, followed by the coffee liqueur.
This combination first appeared in 1949, and is ascribed to Gustave Tops, a Belgian barman, who created it at the Hotel Metropole in Brussels in honor of Perle Mesta, then U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg. The cocktail owes its name to the use of vodka, a stereotypical Russian spirit, and the blackness of the coffee liqueur.
Read more about Black Russian: Variations
Famous quotes containing the words black and/or russian:
“The desire of most parents is first and foremost to do what is best for their children. Every interview with a mother or father confirms this, every letter written by a parent breathes this deep-seated wish, “I hope I am doing the right thing for my child.” This is real and honest, and at the very base of parenthood.”
—Irma Simonton Black (20th century)
“I won the battle the wrong way when our worthy Russian generals were losing it the right way.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)