Give Your White Russians A Sweet, Festive Twist With One Easy Swap

A white Russian is a delicious, decadent cocktail made with three simple ingredients in equal proportions: vodka, Kahlua — or a similar coffee liqueur — and heavy cream. When properly combined in an ice-filled rocks glass, the cocktail becomes much more than the sum of its parts. Still, even a seemingly perfect drink can be improved upon. If you're into seasonal libations, you could give your white Russian a pumpkin spice twist by swapping in pumpkin spice creamer or pumpkin spiced vodka. But maybe you're ready to fully embrace the flavors of the holiday season with your white Russian.

While pumpkin spice may evoke fall, eggnog is for many the ultimate representative flavor of the winter holidays. The easiest way to create an eggnog white Russian is simply adding eggnog instead of heavy cream, the ingredient that sets the white Russian apart from its cousin, the black Russian. You end up with a drink that's incredibly rich and creamy with a tasty interplay between the coffee flavor and the custardy vanilla of the eggnog. From there, you can begin to play around with additions and proportions to suit your taste.

Among the various choices you have for creating your eggnog white Russian is whether to use store-bought eggnog or craft your own definitive eggnog recipe from scratch. Additionally, you could swap out vanilla flavored vodka for regular vodka if you're looking to boost that flavor already inherently present in the eggnog. Another choice is mixing the ingredients. You can go the easy route and simply stir all three ingredients together in a rocks glass or add the eggnog by slowly pouring it over the back of a bar spoon so it floats on top for a layered look. Other folks like to throw the ingredients in a cocktail shaker and give it a shake for a super frothy, well-mixed version,

No matter how you put your eggnog white Russian together, it should definitely be topped with a dash of ground nutmeg, which gives the drink the ultimate holiday taste with this warming spice's nutty, sweet pungency. We recommend fresh grated nutmeg, which is much more flavorful than the jarred variety. You can also add a dash of cinnamon to up the holiday cheer level, hopefully making the eggnog white Russian your go to winter cocktail.