Black Russian

Consider adding some orange bitters as they play nicely with the chocolate flavors from the Kahlúa. Alternatively, add a small amount of Licor 43 to throw vanilla notes into the mix.

If you want a sweeter dessert drink, simply increase the amount of Kahlúa and reduce the vodka.

Note that if you're making this with a less sweet coffee liqueur, you will need to add some sugar to balance it. Try it with half an ounce (15ml) of vanilla syrup!

Created in the 1940s by Gustave Tops, bartender at the Hotel Metropole in Brussels. Tops created the cocktail for Perle Mesa, the American ambassador to Luxembourg.

The name of the cocktail is a simple reference to its ingredients: Kahlúa has a dark brown color and Russian refers to the vodka.

There’s an older drink from the 1930s called “The Russian”, which is made with equal parts gin, vodka and crème de cacao, which also had a variation which added cream.