White Russian

When vodka first hit the American market around the middle of the 20th century, cocktail books often referred to vodka recipes as “Russians” because vodka was generally imported from—you guessed it—Russia. The predecessor to the White Russian was the Black Russian, which came along around 1949. The Black Russian is simply a White Russian without cream, hence the change of color. The White Russian was first documented in the mid 60s. From there it experienced a brief surge in popularity during the disco era, but fell out of favor until the release of the film The Big Lebowski in 1998, in which the character played by Jeff Bridges downs eight White Russians and drops a ninth one on the floor. White Russians can be drunk as a morning beverage if you're trying to cure a hangover, but be careful—drinking too many of them will only cause one.