Black Russian

The BLACK RUSSIAN is simple to make, requiring just two ingredients: vodka & Kahlua. Kahlua is a Mexican liqueur made from rum, sugar, vanilla bean, and arabica coffee. It alone contains 20% alcohol. Given that each bottle is seven years in the making, it’s amazing that Kahlua is inexpensive at about $13 for 375 ml. Any vodka can be used in the mix, preferably Russian Standard to maintain the theme. The proportions are 2:1, vodka to Kahlua.

• 3 oz. (2 jiggers) vodka
• 1.5 oz. (1 jigger) Kahlua
• cherry

Mix the liquid ingredients in an ice-filled glass and stir well. Drop a cherry in the drink, preferably a Luxardo maraschino cherry.

Comment: For those resistant to big complicated cocktail recipes standing in the way of a drink, this one won’t interfere. It takes less than five minutes. It’s a two-fer cocktail — two tips of two bottles and a cherry. Just stir it.

To your health!