Updated June 2026

The White Russian, a combination of coffee liqueur, vodka and heavy cream, has been popular since it appeared in 1949. Leave out the cream and you’ve got a black-coffee-colored Black Russian (usually garnished with a maraschino cherry or a lemon slice//wedge).

The Black and White Russian recipes are not Russian in origin, but were named in the spirit of the primary ingredient, vodka.

As with almost every cocktail, there are numerous riffs on the original, including:

 
Plus:

 
December 24th, Christmas Eve is National Eggnog Day.

For Christmas and New Year’s Eve or Day, try an Eggnog White Russian, which we discovered at Randolph’s Bar & Lounge in the Warwick Hotel*, New York City.

It replaces the cream in the recipe with eggnog. Simple enough!

Below:

> Eggnog White Russian recipe.

Elsewhere On The Nibble:

> White Russian recipe.

> History of the White Russian.

> The history of vodka.

> The history of eggnog.

> More eggnog recipes.

> Specialty eggnog recipes.

> The year’s 100+ cocktail and spirit holidays.
 
 
EGGNOG WHITE RUSSIAN RECIPE

Ingredients Per Cocktail

 
Preparation

1. POUR the coffee liqueur, vodka and eggnog into a shaker filled with ice.

2. SHAKE and strain into a rocks glass.

3. TOP with a grind of fresh nutmeg. (Forget those maraschino cherries in the photo—and the candy cane, too.)

Some people like to float the cream/eggnog on top of the spirits to make a more arty White Russian. We prefer ours shaken, not layered or stirred.

[1] Celebrate the holidays with an Eggnog White Russian (photo courtesy Warwick Hotel).

[2] Some people like to float the coffee liqueur on top of a White Russian for aesthetics (photo © Byblaan | Pexels).

[3] A Black Russian is a White Russian without the cream (photo © Luis Felipe Perez | Pexels).

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