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,
Tales of the Cocktail the Cocktail, a small gathering of cocktail enthusiasts and industry professionals that included legendary bartender and writer Dale DeGroff. After a hiatus following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Tales of the Cocktail returned to New Orleans in 2006 and resumed operation. The event was moved up to July to avoid overlapping with the anniversary of the hurricane, and has taken place in the summer ever since. Ann Tuennerman retired from Tales of the Cocktail on September 25, 2017. Mrs. Tuennerman informed the diversity council that her husband Paul Tuennerman would be returning to work at Tales. Several members of the council