The making of a Caucasian

Anyone who has spent any time in the Quincy House dining room will have noticed that two things we are passionate about are fine films and fine alcoholic beverages. One film that I have always enjoyed is the Cohen brother’s, The Big Lebowski, which is not only a classic film, but it also prominently features a classic drink. The Dude’s love for white Russians has certainly made the drink a part of the American vocabulary. One practice that the film has not caused growth in is (at least according to my extensive search of the interwebs) the practice of the dude’s unique recipe, which is using non-dairy creamer to make the drink. In fact, I was not able to find a single mention of anyone who had actually tried doing so. Since we recently screened the film, it seemed incumbent upon us to document and review the process of making a Caucasian.

Ingredients:
Vodka
Kaluha
Ice
Coffee Mate Non-Dairy Creamer

After mixing the drink, the first observation that I had was that the creamer did not immediately mix as evenly as the milk did.


Even after some vigorous stirring the creamer still clumped together in small chunks.


This led to an interesting drinking experience because every once and a while I caught a large bit of creamer crystals. The surprising bit was that the added texture was almost enjoyable. It is almost akin to having the cookie bits in a Krackle bar.


Aside from texture, the flavor of the creamer fit the drink quite well. Indeed after finishing the Caucasian, I moved to a more standard white Russian and I had a hard time discerning much difference in quality, however there may have been other intervening factors.
And of course the drink was best enjoyed while watching the film.