How to make the White Russian from the movie The Big Lebowski

The White Russian is a delicious and perfect cocktail for any occasion: here is the IBA recipe to make it at home, and feel just like the Dude from The Big Lebowski.

If you love cocktails, you certainly have never tried the White Russian, a vodka-based drink enriched with coffee liqueur and cream (or milk cream). But for all cinema lovers, this is not a simple drink to enjoy on a Saturday evening with friends, but it is also the favorite cocktail of one of the most beloved characters of the big screen: Il Dudo Jeffrey Lebowski , the protagonist of movie The Big Lebowski .

In the film Dude goes from a life of poverty and monotony to one full of strange and funny events… but without ever giving up his legendary White Russian. In short, all you have to do is wear a robe, a pair of comfortable slippers and prepare this legendary drink!

How to make White Russian: original recipe

1. First, fill an old fashioned glass with ice.
2. Take the vodka and pour it into the glass, respecting the indicated doses. Then add the coffee liqueur and mix the two elements to mix them perfectly.
3. At this point move on to the milk cream: put it in a shaker for a few seconds together with two ice cubes, shake it for 10 seconds and then pour it onto the cocktail, letting it fall either on the back of a teaspoon (bar spot) or on an ice cube . This step is important to keep the two ingredients separate.
4. Serve it with a short straw without mixing.

We also leave you a video where you can observe the delicate step of adding the cream at the end to obtain perfect layering.

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Like all drinks, this one should be consumed as soon as it is made to prevent the ice from melting and watering it down.

Origin and history of the White Russian

The White Russian isn't just the cocktail from the movie The Big Lebowski . If the origin of "black" can be dated back to 1949, this variant with cream is more difficult to place temporally. Some claim that it was even born before the other, while the most accredited hypothesis is that the addition of cream serves to make the taste of the cocktail softer and more suitable for the female palate. Yet when Gustave Tops, the barman at the Metropole hotel in Brussels, invented the Black Russian it was for a woman.

What is certain is that on March 21, 1965, the well-known liqueur brand Coffee Southern mentioned it in one of its advertisements , setting down the ingredients of the White Russian for the first time on paper. The peak of his success was precisely in that period, during the disco era of the 70s and then fell into oblivion and returned to the limelight thanks to the film by the Coen brothers.

There are different versions of the White Russian. Let's see which are the most famous:

• White Canadian , prepared with goat's milk;
• Blind Russian , with Baileys;
• White Mexican , based on horchata;
• Mudslide with whiskey cream instead of cream;
• White Cuban with rum instead of vodka.

In Italy, among the most widespread versions is the one prepared with Caffè Borghetti liqueur while in Mexico it is customary to use Kahlua. In all cases, the White Russian has a significant alcohol content of around 20% vol.

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