Black Russian and the blackness of the coffee liqueur. Black Russian The Black Russian is a cocktail of vodka and coffee liqueur. It contains five parts vodka to two parts coffee liqueur, per IBA specified ingredients. Traditionally, the drink is made by pouring the vodka over ice cubes or cracked ice in an old-fashioned glass, followed by the coffee liqueur. This combination 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. The cocktail owes its name to the
Sour (cocktail) Sour (cocktail) A sour is a traditional family of mixed drinks. Common examples of sours are the margarita and the sidecar. "Sours" belong to one of the old families of original cocktails and are described by Jerry Thomas in his 1862 book "How to Mix Drinks". Sours are mixed drinks containing a base liquor, lemon or lime juice, and a sweetener (triple sec, simple syrup, grenadine, or pineapple juice are common). Egg whites are also included in some sours. The gin sour is a traditional mixed cocktail that predates prohibition in the United States. It is a simple combination of