Mixology at Home - Black Russian

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - There are dozens of simple one-two-three cocktail recipes and today it is the Black Russian with only two ingredients - vodka and coffee liqueur.

Just remember: it is a two-to-one ratio, two ounces of vodka and one ounce of coffee liqueur. I use Kahlua but other coffee-based liqueurs work just as well. I have used coffee moonshine at times, a little more potent.

Add the vodka and coffee liqueur to a mixing glass with ice, stir to mix and cool the drink; and then strain into a rocks glass with ice. Honestly, you can just mix it in the rocks glass instead of the mixing glass. I usually serve this cocktail straight up but it is strong (the sweetness can fool you) so that melting ice might not be a bad thing. You can add a cherry as well.

There are some tweaks you can do to literally spice up the cocktail. I add a pinch of cayenne pepper. What about a spicy bitters such as Hellfire Habanero Bitters? So far, everyone who has had the Black Russian with habanero bitters enjoyed it.

Another option is adding two dashes of orange bitters and I’ve heard some bartenders use vanilla vodka as well. You can spend an evening just experimenting on this classic cocktail.

There is another variation if you want to “go big” as in “The Big Lebowski” ... a White Russian. Just add a splash of heavy cream on top and you have “The Dude’s” drink. Go a little further and add some Irish Cream and you have the Mudslide.

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