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SERVE MMMM MONOCHROME ...

THE CONTRAST BETWEEN BLACK AND WHITE IS STARK. THAT’S WHY THE COLOURS WORK ON A PIANO KEYBOARD – OR A CHESSBOARD: THERE’S A DISTINCT DELINEATION BETWEEN ONE AND THE OTHER. SO WHY WOULD DRINKS BE ANY DIFFERENT?

The things you learn on that great repository of knowledge ... No, not the library; the internet of all things, digital and otherwise.

A simply typed query into the origins of the Black Russian cocktail revealed that it first appeared in 1949 – and its existence is attributed to Gustave Tops. Tops was a barman at the Hotel Metropole in Brussels in Belgium and who named the drink for Perle Mesta. (Thanks to Wikipedia and to cocktail historian Gary Regan of liquor.com for that nugget of information!)

So who was Perle Mesta and what made her worthy of this delicious concoction of five parts vodka on the rocks with two parts of coffee-flavoured Kahlua liqueur poured over? At the time, she was the American ambassador to Belgium’s neighbour, Luxembourg. (Which coincidentally still boasts one of the highest wine consumption rates per head of population at 50-plus litres per year, more than anywhere else in the world – as well as secure and secret banking system, amongst other things.)

But by all accounts Mesta was a real character, a renowned hostess and power broker in political circles in Washington in the days when she was considered “just” a socialite, but which might also explain the ambassadorship ... It’s noted in testimony at the Watergate Grand Jury investigation into President Richard M Nixon in June 1975

that he said: “Perle Mesta wasn’t sent to Luxembourg because she had big bosoms. Perle Mesta went to Luxembourg because she made a good contribution.”

Mesta was born in Michigan, to a father who had become a wealthy oilman and hotelier in 1889. She married a steel magnate and engineer in 1916 but was widowed just nine years later, inheriting his substantial $78 million fortune. In today’s terms that would make the 30-something widow a dollar billionaire.

Having moved to Washington in 1940, Mesta was active in the National Woman’s Movement, using her social events to network with figures in contemporary society, the arts, theatre and movies as well as politics. A firm believer in the Equal Rights Amendment which was intended

Apparently Irving Berlin was so impressed by her that he wrote the hit musical Call Me Madam starring Ethel Merman in 1952! Perle Mesta also graced the cover of TIME magazine in 1949 in recognition of her ambassadorship and diplomatic skills. That wasn’t the only time she formed the basis of a character: Wikipedia states that Mesta was the title character played by Shirley Booth in the Playhouse 90 feature The Hostess with the Mostess in 1957, while in a 2009 essay by Thomas Mallon, she was identified as a model for the character Dolly Harrison in Allen Drury’s 1959 novel Advise and Consent.

So that explains a bit about the Black Russian cocktail’s inspiration but what about the White Russian?

“I’m the Dude, so that’s what you call me. That or, uh His Dudeness, or uh Duder, or El Duderino, if you’re not into the whole brevity thing.”

to do away with discrimination against women, she lobbied actively for women’s rights. Harry Truman benefited from her political patronage and is one of the reasons why, after his election as President in 1944, he appointed her the first ever American ambassador to Luxembourg in 1949, a post she held until 1953.

The cocktail is exactly the same as the Black Russian (5 parts vodka, ice, with 2 parts Kahlua) but simply with the addition of cream, which changes both the colour and the flavour of the drink. It is reputed to have been created in the 1960s and it doesn’t have any great inspiration behind it.

However... it gained popularity after being featured in the cult classic movie by the Coen brothers, The Big Lebowski with Jeff Bridges. Bridges plays a slacker character, Lebowski aka “The Dude”, who loves tenpin bowling – and drinking White Russians. The movie, shot in 1998, was a modest success at the time of release but has become a sleeper hit with critics and fans alike now deeming it one of the best comedies of all time. There are Lebowski festivals held all over the United States which thousands of fans attend, quoting lines of dialogue from the movie, like this memorable vignette:

“I’m the Dude, so that’s what you call me. That or, uh His Dudeness, or uh Duder, or El Duderino, if you’re not into the whole brevity thing.”

So for the sake of brevity, dude, here are the recipes for a Black Russian and a White Russian.

VARIATIONS ON A THEME

Dirty Black Russian: Tall Black Russian, Australian Black Russian or Colorado Bulldog: Black Russian in a highball glass topped off with cola.

Brown Russian: also in a highball glass, the drink is topped with ginger ale.

Irish Russian or Smooth Black Russian: served with a head of Guinness.

Black Magic: add a dash of lemon juice and a lemon twist as garnish.

California Russian: add a shot of triple sec and an orange slice.

And then there’s the Mudslide: a Black Russian with a shot of Bailey’s Irish Cream. (So I suppose the substitution of Amarula cream liqueur would make this cocktail an African Mudslide?)

BLACK

RUSSIAN In an Old Fashioned glass, place a few ice cubes and pour over 50 ml vodka followed by 20 ml Kahlua coffee liqueur. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

WHITE RUSSIAN Pour 50 ml of vodka over ice in an Old Fashioned glass, 20 ml of Kahlua and top off with 30 ml dairy cream. Gently stir before serving.