Black Russian
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The Black Russian is a cocktail of vodka and coffee liqueur. It contains 50 ml vodka and 20 ml coffee liqueur, per IBA specified ingredients.<ref name="IBA">Template:Cite web</ref>
The drink is made by pouring the vodka and coffee liqueur over ice cubes or cracked ice in an old-fashioned glass and stirring.<ref name="SpiritDrinks">Template:Cite web</ref> The Black Russian is often garnished with a lemon slice and a Luxardo maraschino cherry on a stick.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History
The Black Russian cocktail 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 United States Ambassador to Luxembourg.<ref name="sicard">Template:Cite web</ref> The cocktail owes its name to the use of vodka, a typical Russian spirit, and the blackness of the coffee liqueur.
Variations
- Dirty Black Russian, Tall Black Russian, Australian Black Russian or Colorado Bulldog: served in a highball glass and topped up with cola.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Black Magic: served with a dash of lemon juice and a lemon twist to garnish.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Irish Russian or Smooth Black Russian: served with a head of Guinness.<ref name="sicard"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Brown Russian: served in a highball glass and topped with ginger ale.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Belarusian or white Russian: served with milk or cream.<ref name="IBA"/>
- Mudslide: served with Irish cream, either fresh cream or ice cream, with or without chocolate sauce rim.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Mind Eraser: topped up with sparkling water.<ref name="minderaser">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Paralyzer: Made with cola and milk in addition to vodka and coffee liqueur.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Cultural impact
- The cocktail is mentioned by the Italian judicial and criminal witness Alberto Biggiogero during testimony in the trial concerning the death of Giuseppe Uva, a case covered by the television program Un giorno in pretura.Template:Cn
- In the film The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear, the protagonist Frank Drebin (played by Leslie Nielsen) orders the famous drink in one scene.