Black Russian 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 use of vodka, a typical Russian spirit,
Stinger (cocktail) de menthe. The mixture was originally stirred, although modern recipes call for it to be shaken with cracked ice. Early recipes required that the Stinger be served straight, but since the end of Prohibition in the United States it became more common for it to be served over crushed ice. Cognac, a type of brandy, was the identified as the basis for the Stinger as early as William "Cocktail" Boothby's 1905 supplement to his 1900 book, "American Bar-Tender". In the 21st century, cognac was the most commonly used brandy cited by recipes for the Stinger's base liquor. Cocktail guides recommend