Mixing a White Russian
A few of the most common things I get asked are: what the drink on the site is, if it's good, and how to make it. To take care of the first two, it's called a 'White Russian', and yes, it's very good. It's a rich and creamy sipping treat, which finally got some long-due credibility in some circles when The Big Lebowski hit.
Ignore the martini fads, those come and go, but the White Russian has staying power. I know other blogs have word counts and such on their posts, and I've considered adding a "this many white russians went into the making of this post." That would be a little too over the top even for me, but they are that good.
With that out of the way, we're left with the third...
A white russian is made up of three ingredients:
- 1 part Vodka
- 1 part Kahlua
- 1 part Cream
Generally, take a tumbler and fill it with ice, add the vodka, then the kahlua, then the cream. The ratios are just a rule of thumb, and there are many variations depending on who you're making it for (generally, women prefer more cream).
A black russian is basically a white russian without the cream, so for something that tastes a bit less like a treat, you can just give it a small splash of cream. There are a few other variations I know about, that work well depending on who your audience is.
- 2 parts Vodka
- 1 part Kahlua
- 1 part Cream
And...
- 2 part Vodka
- 1 part Kahlua
- 4 part Cream
Of course, suit to taste, so anything between the stock and the variations I've given you is just fine. For a really interesting treat, you can substitute Bailey's Irish Cream for the cream.
And of course there's the Colorado Bulldog, which is a white russian with another part of coca cola added at the last, which many women love but which few bars admit exist.
- Vodka
I like nice things, but there are times when they just don't really matter and your money is just going down the drain for the sake of a label. When it comes to vodka, quality is important only when you'll be sipping it straight or slightly mixed.
When it comes to something like a white russian, what you get from a nice sipping vodka is going to be overpowered enough that it's really worth having two bottles: the good stuff, and the stuff for the white russians. There are better places in the makeup of your drink to put your cash.
The absolute worst is when I see kids making jello shots with something like Absolut or Skyy vodka. That's just, and shows just how pathetic the public education system has become.
- Cream
This one is important. You might have a tendency to say "Cream is bad for you, mmmkay?" and try to substitute something else, but it's good to remember that you aren't making a jug of the stuff. It's a sipping drink, and cream really does add to the texture and flavor and is highly recommended. Some like half and half, which is half milk and half cream. That works fine too.
However, sometimes you just don't have cream around. Understandable, I've certainly been there. In those situations, 2% milk works. It's not ideal, but it'll do. Milk with 1%, or egh, skim milk, is absolutely a last resort. It does something, but you lose so much flavor and texture, and the difference is so vast, that you might as well just go with the black russian.
Lastly, soy milk. I don't know anyone who has tried it, although a girl suggested it once, right before we broke up (coincidence, I swear). This is usually the darling of vegans, and while I have a few I count as friends, they're freaks of nature. Notwithstanding the fact that it is entirely impossible for a sane person to date a vegan successfully (they. can't. eat. anywhere.), because that would just be annoying, acting as though it's somehow wrong to consume dairy when you're biologically engineered to suck on a tit when you come into the world is just weird.
Don't even go there, you don't need the negative karma.
- Kahlua
This one confuses people outside of the USA sometimes, but basically Kahlua is just a variant of coffee liquor. There are a bunch of them, and if Kahlua itself isn't available to you, you want a rich and dark variety. Since you cheaped out on the vodka, you're able to splurge a bit here and not get the really awful stuff.
Kahlua itself is a rich, dark brown coffee liqueur made from Mexican coffee, with cane spirits (yep, from sugar cane, kinda like rum) and a slight hint of vanilla. It's considered to be very thick-bodied, and also has sugar and a bit of vodka in it already.
Yes, it's good sipping just on its own, or in coffee, hot chocolate, or over warm brownies with a dollop of ice cream, or lightly drizzled over a piece of vanilla cheesecake... it's worth keeping in the house. It's been around forever, since before World War II, but weirdly enough it didn't come to America until the early 1960s. Don't bother asking why I know that.
The cream provides the texture, but if you're going to be able to tell the difference in flavor it will be here, so budget accordingly. It really isn't that big of a deal though, so just use what you have and enjoy it.
- A note on mixing, for the children
I'm going to assume you don't have a cocktail shaker and are just going to go ghetto on mixing your drink, like I usually do. Here are some things to keep in mind...
You want your white russian to be chilled, but not watery. Watery is very bad, and the easiest way to have a watery drink is too much alcohol and not enough ice. The one you see in the picture above actually has too much white russian and not enough ice, but that's because I pre-mix it at this point and store it chilled in the fridge for the first few of the evening before I've fully hit the sipping stage.
When you're adding the ingredients, what you want to avoid is having the vodka floating on top. This is very easy to do if you are just adding the alcohol over the ice and giving a quick stir. Vodka first, then Kahlua, then cream over top. The heavier liquids are already migrated down and mingling, so with a half-second stir you're set.
'Tip one back for the cow.
Posted by drunkenbatmanJanuary 27, 2005, at 04:38 AM
Comments (45)
Posted by: Erik Hollensbe at January 27, 2005 05:54 AM
You should really try Kapali as an alternative to Kahlua. It's a bit thicker (read: goes great with cream and makes milk a little more tolerable) and IMO, has a stronger flavor that an evil smoker like me can appreciate.
Also, since the name isn't nearly as big you don't pay for the label, a very nice bonus.
Posted by: Oliver at January 27, 2005 06:38 AM
best.drink.ever
Posted by: Derik at January 27, 2005 08:49 AM
Great post. White Russians are by far one of the more overlooked drinks.
My college roommate and I used to make them just about every day (takes the edge off very nicely). We found several things out.
First, go for cheap vodka as you said. That was always easy because every college dorm room has a bottle of cheap vodka that no one wants to touch.
Second, half and half is ten times better than milk (again as you said). The texture just isn't right with milk.
Third, they taste better with less cream. That blew my mind. At first we went very heavy on the cream to hide the alcohol, but that's the entirely wrong thing to do. We got to the point of using just a splash, erring on the side of too little cream.
Thanks for the best guide to white russians I've ever read.
Posted by: creative l1cense at January 27, 2005 09:35 AM
A 5 page guide to white russians? Lol I was incredulous paging down. I was getting kind of bored with the Mac Mini stuff DB (nothing personal just sick of hearing about it everywhere its overexposed now) so thanks for remember why I love this site.
Posted by: cereal at January 27, 2005 09:43 AM
well, i have to partially disagree on this one. i usually use "lesser" wodkas to mix my white russians also, but i recently got a nice one, and it blew my mind. it tasted much smoother and did not have that harsh aftertaste. mixing with two (or more ;-) parts of vodka was a no-brainer!
great drink! great movie! great blog!
Posted by: ssp at January 27, 2005 05:24 PM
Ho-Hum... in a strange coincidence, my flatmates had made White Russians when I came back home.
Not bad at all.
Posted by: mindflayer at January 27, 2005 05:32 PM
I drank White Russians - well, mostly black since storing milk/cream was a pain - and I liked them. Now I mostly drink whisky, of the Irish and Scottish variety, and bourbon, neat, in a double. Ah.
Posted by: Ole at January 27, 2005 05:53 PM
I had everything but kahlua so I had to wait till today to make one. This tastes so much like chocolate milk somehow. Weird man! Thanks for making it educational.
Posted by: Keller at January 27, 2005 10:35 PM
Its funny that you mentioned soy milk. Let me assure you that not only is it not a good idea, it's a complete abomination of an otherwise beautiful drink.
Sadly, I know from experience. In my defense, there is nothing more disappointing than mixing up a batch of caucasians, going for the half 'n half, and finding that the carton is too light. In my desparation I noticed the fake milk in the back of the fridge. Now, I had never had soy milk myself, but my friend drinks it, and it has the word "milk" in its title, so I thought it just might do the job in this dire situation.
I expected it to be at least as bad as mixing with normal lowfat milk, but was utterly blown away by the vile concoction. I should have stuck with a black russian. Heck, I would have even been better off adding Mt. Dew and calling it an "eXtreme Russian."
Before this post, I had never seen a guide on mixing white russians, and had to learn everything I know from The Dude. He taught me well though, as I have exactly the same method as you. One important tip, however, is to always take a whiff of the cream/half and half BEFORE you pour. Its a shame to waste 1 part vodka and 1 part Kahlua by topping it off with 1 part chunky dairy substance.
The idea of subbing in Bailey's is an interesting one. I'm gonna have to try that when I get home, as I ran out of half 'n half this morning, and I refuse to have another "Vegan Russian" fiasco.
Posted by: peimei at January 28, 2005 01:24 PM
"Before this post, I had never seen a guide on mixing white russians, and had to learn everything I know from The Dude."
I figured it out! drunkenbatman IS the dude!
Posted by: Neil at January 28, 2005 05:12 PM
Hey db, I've always wondered... do vegans swallow?
Posted by: matt machczynski at January 28, 2005 11:17 PM
A couple other variations to try would include a:
colorado bulldog: same as a white russian plus an equal part coca-cola
smith and wesson: same as a white russian plus 1 more part coca-cola and 1 more part soda water (typically in a pint glass). Some like this one with 2 parts of each cola and soda.
Posted by: Rach at January 29, 2005 02:54 AM
Without a doubt you're the coolest motherfucker with a blog. Awesome post. Random as fuck, but that is part of what makes it cool.
Posted by: Tyler at January 29, 2005 09:06 PM
First of all, it's only difficult to dine out domestically as a vegan when one leaves the civilized portions of the U.S. I dine easily and regularly throughout The Bay Area, Los Angeles/San Diego, Boston, New York, and D.C.
And while we are indeed "biologically engineered" to consume human breast milk at birth, it is just as true we are engineered to stop consuming milk as we approach puberty. Think about it for a moment: what could be more wrong than a 14-year-old human adolescent — hormones raging — sidling up to his or her mother's breast for a big mouthful of lactate? Perhaps only a 30-year-old doing the same. That's why we become increasingly lactose intolerant from puberty onward.
That said, I like the White Russians as much as the next soul. So for the benefit of my fellow vegans, some tips...
As our drunken host notes above, generic soy milk makes a shitty White Russian. It's too thin, for the drink and for just about any standard use. Look to the fine folks at Silk to save you; the Silk line of soy milk products is all I would ever consider consuming.
For White Russians you will want Silk soy creamer, the one in the purple carton. It's engineered with a thicker, creamer consistency and has increased fat content to replicate the mouth feel of traditional cream (a.k.a. fatty bovine lactate).
(On a side note, when making "cream" soups I find a blend of Silk soy creamer and regular Silk soy milk gives the soup the weight and creaminess of a traditional preparation.)
Back to the drink — following our host's three-equal-parts recipe using Silk soy creamer will result in a fine Vegan White Russian. However, as Derik notes in the comments section, a bit less cream can result in a better WR. What's critical is the ordering and blending as soy cream is not as heavy as bovine cream so it must be added last and the drink must be stirred well.
And don't drink it immediately; let it sit for a minute or two for the flavors to harmonize.
Posted by: drunkenbatman at January 29, 2005 09:50 PM
That said, I like the White Russians as much as the next soul. So for the benefit of my fellow vegans, some tips...
*laughing*This is why I leave comments on.
Posted by: Adam Flanczewski at January 30, 2005 12:21 AM
Hey batman, you should link the picture on the blog template to that post. So when people hover over it, it says "Want to mix a White Russian?" or something of the sort. Well, that's what I'd do--just a suggestion...
Good drink, by the way. And a nice writeup. Time to stalk down some Kahlua. :P
Posted by: Tyler at January 30, 2005 09:18 PM
*laughing*This is why I leave comments on.
And that is why we comment.
Posted by: tazacacao at February 16, 2005 05:40 PM
Anybody in comment land know the name of this variation? Instead of vodka, use Hennessy. It's much better IMO. I'm not a regular drinker, so when I do drink I go for the good stuff.
Posted by: Josh at March 7, 2005 02:00 AM
I recently found Chocolate vodka (Three Olives) for $14 at the local store. My guess is they're having trouble selling them because of the nasty idea of a 'chocolate vodka' -- but it's just the ticket for a white russian!
Posted by: simon at March 11, 2005 02:01 PM
well..
i'll have to disagree with the cheap vodka thing.. i live in denmark so the vodka price is pretty high, still i think that cheap vodka is really a very bad thing to do.. also.. using anything else than Kalúa wouldn't be a real white russian.. also.. drinking a white russian is also very much about using the right glass.. i know this might sound bogus anyhow using the right glass i very important.. it's like the taste actually will be altered if you drink out of a.. well.. pint glass.. i prefer the same kind of glass as you use for baileys..
just as a note.. i'm drinking wr while a type.. it's absolutely one of the best.. and if you read this but haven't tried out white russian you really just have to!.. it's the superioer drink anytime.. hurray!
Posted by: Dufus at March 29, 2005 01:50 PM
What an absolutely splendid idea posting White Russian recipes. Purely on a whim I bought 3 liters of cheap nasty vodka and a mindbendingly massive bottle of Kahlua over the weekend. I haven't been sober since Saturday morning.
One facet of this subject I think you may have accidentally omitted mention of, and that is enjoying a chilled WR instead of coffee in the morning. It's an experience not to be forgotten.
I am *so* drunk at this precise moment, it's actually hard to describe. Even my hair follicles are hopelessly intoxicated. My first WR was at 7:15 this morning. It's almost 12:00 noon now and I'm on my third pitcher already. Today was supposed to be "paint the back fence" day, but owing to general lack of interest and Kommissar Kahlua, that project is on hold. The objective here is to drink _all_ of the Vodka and Kahlua I bought, then consider other matters in the scintillating light of sobriety. I should manage to drink it all by the end of today if I work hard at it.
By the way, if you run out of milk/cream please do try Black Russians instead. I ran out of cream on Sunday morning, milk about an hour ago...so now the dark side has its day in the sun, so to speak.
Concerning your plea for apparent sanity in comments: May I remind you sir that *you* posted the recipe, not I. Ergo whatever ASCII diahrrea comes spurting out of my network card is indirectly your responsibility...or something like that.
Sorry, I have now reached the ragged jagged edge of coherence.
[UPDATE]
I intended to post this upon reaching the state referred to above but failed. So...after passing out for just over an hour, waking up and mixing yet another pitcher I saw this unposted stream of utter rubbish and decided to append some deep closing thoughts.
There are three things you should never ever be without:
1. Beer
2. Cigarettes
3. A chain saw (no, I'm truly not kidding)
The reason for always having some of items 1 & 2 is self evident. You may ask yourself; "why number three oh master of alcoholic annihilation?". Well grasshopper, it's as simple as sunshine. Some people (principally this writer, who cannot speak for anyone else..and he himself almost can't speak anyway) like to get completely wrecked and chop up furniture with...yes, by now you've guessed it, a chainsaw. Given that the writer likes to enjoy adult beverages to excess - frequently - it can be readily deduced that a lot of furniture gets to be firewood around these parts.
When I bought this particular chainsaw, A Makita DCS6401 I put an 'ad in my local paper, and man what a response I got. Within the space of two weeks, my yard and the barn looked like the quality control reject area at a North Carolina furniture factory It was an incredible sight. Initially I tried pianos since I seemed to have an overly large number of elderly bangers. I quickly discovered that piano wire fucked up my chain PDQ. Thereafter I ripped the string assembly out first, and then had at the thing with my saw. For almost a month I was able to remain continuously drunk and indulge my unholy lust for furniture destruction.
What stopped this from becoming an obsession I'm no longer sure. What I do know is that once I'd rendered various items that formerly adorned someone's living room, into kindling, I would then have a huge bonfire, get a barbeque going and invite some friends around to admire the scene of utter devastation, eat some burgers, drink a wide variety of adult beverages (until someone fell over/got knocked over/whatever and had to be put in the back of someone else's pickup and taken home). This became something of a local event and was extraordinarily well attended.
One night a really bad wind whipped up from just about nowhere and embers from the blazing furniture landed on my barn roof, burning the damn thing all the way down to a heap of ash. The large quantity of furniture inside contributed to the inferno. I vaguely remember it happening, sadly it is little more than a slight memory. I apparently was running around screaming " Burn Baby, BURN!!" at the top of my lungs and forbidding anyone to call the firefighters out until it was obviously a done deal.
Predictably, my insurance company took a decidedly dim view of these events, and stolidly refused to compensate me for the loss. I honestly didn't blame them one bit. I would have refused too in their position. All that changed though, the day a senior insurance claims adjuster came to town...........
I got a call one morning from a fella who said he "was gonna be in the neighborhood tomorrow"
Note to the reader:
Yeah....right. Our town is 85 miles from the next town, and neither one has a population greater than 5,000. We're almost 5 hours from Rapid City SD, if you drive like someone posessed that is. In other words we reside in a somewhat rural area, people don't just "happen to be in the neighborhood" around here. If you're here, you intend to be here. If you're not here...oh hell never mind, I just can't get my mind around that one.
Anyway, where was I? oh yeah, the insurance adjuster. Wait, I'm gonna make another pitcher of BR's - NO, STOP! I just remembered, I've got a can of condensed milk, now that should prove to be interesting...or revolting. Let's see. I'll "be right back" as they say (whoever the hell "they" are).
OK, I'm back. Condensed milk doesn't work!. This idea was not a good one, to put it mildly. The unutterable vileness of this concoction cannot be adequately described within the construct of the English language. For what it's worth, I threw in some Grenadine in an attempt to mitigate the flavor. What I've got as a result is simply awful. I decided to drink it anyway, I refuse to waste decent booze just because some misguided mixology produced an aberrant outcome. Washing this down with a beer chaser seems to work, so I'll proceed with this narrative like an Erie, PA steelworker at end of shift, guzzling something that vaguely resembles a boilermaker.
Now, we were discussing the insurance adjuster IIRC. I accepted his pathetically weak story about being in the neighborhood, and cordially asked him to stop by at his convenience. After asking directions he said he'd be round the following day. Pondering this situation for a while I somehow went onto auto-pilot. What happened next can only be considered either idiotic or diabolical. I decided to suborn this guy completely. I wasn't getting a dime anyway, so I figured I'd have some fun. I after all, had been blindingly honest, he was the one being somewhat disingenuous.
First I got an immense water melon. Then I make a mix of Vodka and Midori figuring that the damn stuff apparently tastes like melon anyway. Then I got a horse syringe and gradually injected nearly 1.5 liters of the cocktail into the water melon, (a process that took some hours I might add, it wasn't easy) then refrigerated the water melon to marinate, so to speak.
After this operation was complete I called a colleague who has a lifetime liking of things herbal, and asked him if he knew how I could get a hold of some hash brownies. He gleefully told me he would ask his wife to make some that evening - and - would I like them delivered? I gratefully accepted the offer with alacrity, since somewhere in the deepest recesses of my evil mind I figured out that I still had a bunch of work to do to "prepare" for the following day.
I then went into town and stocked up on beer and just about every type of booze that I didn't already have. On the way home I stopped off at the house of a local lady known to exchange certain sexual favors for cash. Planting an absurd (read can't be refused) amount of cash on the table, I asked her in the most candid terms if she would "do my guest" the following day. To my utter astonishment the plot came together right at that very moment, in a way I could never have planned in my wildest and most evil imaginings. The lady refused! Shocked I asked her why she would refuse such a well paid assignation such as this. She explained that she had recently contracted a case of the clap and was being treated for it, but that it was a stubborn strain and wasn't responding well to the usual medications (?). Gleefully I asked her if she would take the job anyway, clap 'n all, offering her some additional cash if she thought that would make the difference. Honorably she desclined the offer of additional funding, and after some thought agreed reluctantly to take the job. I told her the where/when and that I'd call her when the "guest" seemed to be in the mood on the following day, and we left it at that.
The following day dawned plains hot...which means that heat seems to boil out of the ground and suck body fluids out of you, leaving you a dessicated husk. I brewed up some iced tea and waited for my visitor, enjoying several cold beers in the shade on my porch and generally enjoying life to its fullest.
My visitor arrived fairly promptly, visibly uncomfortable and in a less than sanguine frame of mind. I tortured him some by walking him around the area where the barn had formerly stood, explaining the exact circumstances (yet again) in which the episode had taken place.
Note to the reader:
At no point had I attempted to deny the precise events leading to the destruction of the barn. The insurance company had said that even if the claim was unsuccessful I should nevertheless fully document the events, since future coverage depended on complete disclosure. I willingy complied, knowing full well that although a freak of nature caused the windstorm, it had nonetheless been my own foolishness which caused the conflagration in the first place. I also enclosed my copies of the firefighters' response report, as well as the local police account of the matter. It came as no surprise then, when they subsequently denied the claim. The surprise was the visit of a senior adjuster nine months after the matter was laid fully to rest
The writer just made another huge vile tasting pitcher of what should be WR's,
but has been transmogrified into something else (see above)
By now this poor guy is close to passing out from the heat, so I "take pity" on him
and suggest that our remaining discussions continue in the house where there's air conditioning, and some cold iced tea.
Relief was etched on his sweaty fat face as we ambled back to the house.
Once inside I pour iced tea for him, explaining that if he didn't mind I'd stick to my beer, since that's my usual beverage of choice in warm weather. Putting the plate of brownies on the table I retrieved my files on the barn burning as he dived into his brownies and slurped down the iced tea, accepting several refills. He begins to read me chapter and verse concerning underwriting and the limitations of fire insurance and insurance policies in general. I let most of this diatribe in one ear and out the other, waiting for the inevitable to happen. What I didn't bargain for is that he ate the entire plate of brownies. From memory about eight of 'em or so, although I could easily be wrong, +/- one or two in either direction.
Almost on cue about 45 minutes later our overweight intrepid field man is looking glassy eyed and grinning in a slack jawed "medication-time-in-the-psycho-ward" kind of way. He inquired if there was a restaurant anywhere nearby since he thought lunch sounded like a real neat idea. I trotted out the watermelon, explained that I'd make some lunch later, but some refreshing melon would be nice in the heat. Chopped it up right in front of him and gave him a huge slice. He went through it like a harvester in a wheatfield, then demolished several more PDQ. I tested the waters by offering him a beer, he accepted slurring slightly that it wasn't exactly company policy, but it was awful damn hot and he was in the middle of nowhere.
Excellent
I bring out some ice cold Bud's and we (plus remaining water melon) adjourn to the porch.
Over the space of the next two hours he demolishes the water melon almost completely,
the rest of the brownies, plus another half dozen beers or so.
He becomes first overtly intoxicated, then almost completely incoherent,
rambling on at length in a nonsensical way about whatevere fleeting thought
just zoomed through his destroyed brain cells.
I place the call to our "Good Samaritan" in town, informing her that "the guest" is ready.
He becomes quite engrossed in some porn, which just happens to be playing on the VCR while slurping down even more beer.
A half hour later she shows up, and joins us for some drinkies on the porch.
He's eyeing her as if he's never seen a woman before, almost salivating he's so completely fucked up.
She's now on his lap, whispering something presumably suggestive (and probably anatomically impossible) in his ear.
He grabs his bag and follows her unsteadily to his car, whereupon by arrangement she drives them both into town,
registering in his name. "Mr. and Mrs. ---" in the local motel where (improbably, but nevertheless true) her brother is the desk clerk.
Immediately before their departure, as a last minute piece of pure inspiration, I toss my dog in the back of his car.
Note to the reader:
My dog will fuck anything. I should have had him fixed but never got around to it.
As a result he'll hump sheep, pigs, motorcycles, anything....and has...many, many embarassing times.
I honestly don't want to know what happened over the next couple of hours, it would make
me sick to my stomach. What I do know is that when I drove her car into town the following day she had several
really interesting things to tell me....
- She strategically placed a pair of her underwear in his briefcase, in a place (she thought) he wouldn't immediately look.
- Understanding with great insight why I threw my dog in the back of his car, she got my dog in on the act,
he apparently "got his" in the closing moments of the evening. God I wish I'd had a webcam on that one. She just rolled
him over and said to dog; "go for it!". Clearly in his horny doggy mind 2+2 made a perfect 4 and performed magnificently.
I guess our intrepid field man got his cherry popped, so to speak, but by a 165lb slobbering horny Weimaraner.
The rest of the story is relatively uninteresting.
I did get a call from out intrepid field man two weeks later
asking me obliquely whether or not he had (in my opinion) conducted himself in a proper manner while at my house.
Soothingly, I told him that out here in the badlands we define a "proper manner" somewhat differently than city folks do,
and not to worry about a thing. He elected not to pursue that line of conversation any further.
A month later I got a check for the barn. It was an astounding amount, and wholly wrong from the standpoint of the insurance business model.
Hell, that old barn had withstood 78 years of this climate and showed it. I was gonna knock the fucking thing down the next year anyway.
I sent the check back to the insurance company via registered mail, informing them
that owing to the fact it was my own goddamn fault to begin with I couldn't accept the settlement. If they wished they could donate
the exact amount of the settlement to [...] charity on my behalf. (I mean come on if I had accepted the settlement
in years to come who knows what might have been made of that fact, especially since I'd already said to everyone and anyone
including the local Police, Fire Department and the local paper that it was my own fault!!!)
My house is - and always has been - properly protected and insured, against tornadoes, errant lightning strikes, fire, floods,
and as many other natural hazards as we can predict or imagine out here in the badlands.
To this day I still enjoy immensely hacking up furniture with a chainsaw, bonfires, barbecues.....
and smetimes when I have nothing on my agenda.......White Russians for breakfast.
Posted by: rob at March 29, 2005 04:36 PM
I've just made my first White Russian, and it sure lives up to your descriptions.
Thanks for informing me about this wonderful drink that I never knew existed :)
Posted by: John at May 23, 2005 12:40 PM
There is a wonderful coffee liquer called "Keoki" that is a very excellent (and cheap if you live in Hawaii anyway) alternative to Kahlua. It's made with Kona coffee and is very dark and rich. It makes a good white russian.
A nice twist is to add a splash of the macadamia nut liquer made by the same company to the drink and don't use as much cream/milk. Though it's really removing itself from the Russians at this point, it does make heck of a beverage! Maybe you could call it a White Polynesian?
Posted by: Jon Jack at June 28, 2005 08:10 PM
Great post, very indepth. Love the picture.
from a white russian
Posted by: dirkstoop at August 21, 2005 06:02 PM
thanks, nice drink :)
Posted by: S Downs at August 26, 2005 01:52 PM
Kahlua sold in Mexico is better than the imported stuff, has higher alcohol content, and features a miniature mexican taking a siesta under the front portal ( http://img.epinions.com/images/opti/d6/6b/fddkSpiritsBy_NameAllKahlua_Licor_de_Cafe-resized200.jpg ). It will sightly improve your caucasian.
Posted by: Rambunctious at September 21, 2005 05:53 AM
In lots of bars, white russians are served layered like some kind of kinky cocktail. Invariably I mix that thing up to let the flavours mingle but the bartender always looks upset at the destruction of their creation.
One even told me I was wrong to mix it up. Shame on them for making a drink to look at rather than to drink.
Rant over.
Posted by: Dave! at October 4, 2005 08:37 PM
I *love* a good Caucasian... I make one called "Dave's White Russian" which consists of:
2 Shots Vodka
2 Shots Kahlua
2 Shots *Irish Cream*
Mix over ice and stir. Seriously, this is the best drink evah.
See you at the Evening at Adler!
Posted by: brian at November 13, 2005 02:07 AM
great post, great drink, and i love the ridiculous story by "dufus" in the comments.
Posted by: John at December 14, 2005 05:35 PM
Dufus is the Boom after a few to many White Russian's! I just had to go mix another batch for a toast to you and your mixology. Thanks JBH
Posted by: Fufu at December 15, 2005 07:52 AM
Waaaaaaaaoooooo i'm gonna try this drink, I've seen the dude ( The big lebowsky ) drinking a White Russian and I always wanted to try it.
Thx for advice ;)
Posted by: Libby at December 19, 2005 02:14 PM
Hey!
Thank you very much for the recipe ;) my friend has been talking about this drink for aaaages, and I decided I would give it a research and see what occured - now I'm quite convinced that I will be trying it this Christmas holiday!
Happy Christmas to you :)
Posted by: binge at December 22, 2005 02:36 PM
Uh - nice job, sort of, on your white russian page. Please see my blog for details on my campaign to ensure the presence of soy white russians in all bars...across the US: bingecafe (at b l o g s p o t). Very serious stuff.
--eleni binge
PS - it's "normal" to drink milk from yo' mama's tit, (as opposed to a different species)...and, to like stop sucking tit (for milk that is) when you're maybe 3 at the latest...unless you're from a different sort of family than I am.
PPS - the increasing tightness of my pants suggest I'm finding quite a bit of food in and out. Ah, can't wait till the info out there propogated about vegans catches up with reality.
Posted by: binge at December 22, 2005 02:37 PM
Uh - nice job, sort of, on your white russian page. Please see my blog for details on my campaign to ensure the presence of soy white russians in all bars...across the US. Very serious stuff.
--eleni binge
PS - it's "normal" to drink milk from yo' mama's tit, (as opposed to a different species)...and, to like stop sucking tit (for milk that is) when you're maybe 3 at the latest...unless you're from a different sort of family than I am.
PPS - the increasing tightness of my pants suggest I'm finding quite a bit of food in and out. Ah, can't wait till the info out there propogated about vegans catches up with reality.
Posted by: J at January 13, 2006 04:54 PM
Just a note (and I didn't read all the comments to see if someone else mentioned it) - here we call white russians with cola in them Paralyzers - I've never heard them called Colorado Bulldogs before - but then, I live in Canada
Posted by: Duddits at January 24, 2006 09:55 PM
A White Russian is indeed a superb indulgence.
Though, have you ever heard of this variation;
a White Boxer?
2oz vodka
2oz khalua
2oz bailey's
2oz cream or half&half
The cliche is, it only takes one to knock you on your arse. Two if you got problems. ;)
Posted by: Duddits at January 29, 2006 05:30 AM
Well, just a little bit of a 'screw the pooch' on that one! I actually meant to list the K as
Especial
Wonder why I forgot? ;)
Posted by: iyork at March 10, 2006 01:10 AM
i've done both the vegan white russian and the non. the vegan done with 'soy creamer' by silk. this can be done quite well and is very tastey. remember, a splash! not one part ;)
i have also had a white russian with cream (several times). and in all honesty i think both can stand side by side given you use a 'soy creamer' other than soy milk. probably more soy creamer than regular cream... but none-the-less both can be made to taste very good. personally i dont dig on much dairy (personal pref) but to be fair both can work very well when it comes to taste.
cheers!
ian
Posted by: j-murda at March 18, 2006 03:24 PM
His dudeness, or El Dude-arino, if your not into the whole brevity thing.
Posted by: maria at April 8, 2006 09:33 AM
what a pity that the picture shows a WR done with light blue skimmed milk STIRRED with the spirits. the spirituoses must join at the bottom while the rich cream rules the top like the froth on a beer - neither stirred nor shaken
white russian the white way
Posted by: ImmigrationDrivesMeToDrink at April 19, 2006 11:16 PM
I have been a fan of White Russians since my Dad first turned me on to them about 15 years ago. It is my official "Vegas" drink when I vacation there. Thanks for providing the mixing instructions. I am enjoying a shaker full of Stoli vanil (vanilla flavored vodka), kahlua especial, and milk (boy, am I sorry I didnt plan ahead to have creme on hand). The two, more-exotic liquors are more than making up for this fact. *hic* :) I think I am buzzed...mission accomplished!
Posted by: eeram at April 25, 2006 01:41 AM
I had the delight of being offered a Black Russian (or 3) once and have been meaning to make my own ever since.
Usually (though I'm not vegan) I'm not into cream as it doesn't agree with me.
But to hell with that I say. Black Russians are just too damn good.
Cheers for the info on how to make em ;)
Posted by: jo at May 2, 2006 10:53 PM
I love the burning barn story!! We had "pitch in for the cases of beer" cookouts for about 4 months when we cut down 35 pine trees in my nwflorida yard, and I am a B/W/Russian fan since I was 17..(born in '58)--It was really windy one of the "barnfire" weekends, so we decided to bring the burn barrel into the shop and continue our SAT/SUN tradition.. we set that thing to ablazin' in shop with doors open, and about an hour in, I told my hubby (who knows EVERYTHING) it smelled like more than the pine logs burning. He said...nah, it's just the scrap wood from earlier dadadada...
well about 20 minutes further along, one of the guys came back in from "watering the tree" next to the shop...and said "hey man,.. the side of your wall is glowing red!! Needless to say..I'm a woman...I WAS RIGHT!! And one of the guys at the "BARNfire" was a volunteer firefighter... so he took an ax!!! and literaly chopped the crap out of the wall as if he were trying to install a neanderthal "window"!! We had fun saving the shop wall, and sunday was spent rebuilding!
But the Russians are the sneakiest drinks I've ever had! They taste so good, and the alcohol taste is so hidden, you can't tell til you are about to hit the floor...oops!! I had toooo much!! By the way, for anyone who drinks too much for the evening and may wake up with the toilet beckoning you to "Honor" it,...do the best you can at the end of your night to drink as much warm water as you can..before you "fall out" and when you wake up and puke to the porcelain god, rejuvenate with as much warm water as you can drink before you "fall out" again. Do this each time you empty your stomach involuntarily, and you won't have dry heaves, and by morn you will want the hair of the dog.. just to normal out!! Cool reading! cheers!
Posted by: Anonymous comment at May 25, 2006 12:36 PM
If I actually do have a shaker, is there any difference in which order you put the ingrediens in the shaker? Does the temperature of the ingredients matter?
Nice one. Nice rant about vegans as well.
We had a few months of intensive White Russian consumption at our flat two years ago or so, which was a bit – hmmm – drunk, but rather nice.
We're getting nice 4+% milk straight from the dairy farm which is a rather good substitute for the cream (although not quite the same but it's very easy to run out of cream, which made this rather crucial...). Also it seems that girls are more willing to drink milk-based White Russians than cream based ones.