Today’s DOTD - Drink Of The Day - is a White Russian inspired by National Kahlúa Day. Because coffee & alcohol can make a wonderful combination!
(We didn’t forget you folks in the bar who prefer a mocktail though - we’ve got both below, in the recipe section.)
National Kahlúa Day is celebrated annually on February 27 as a tribute to one of the greatest coffee dessert liqueurs ever imagined.
When it comes to slightly sinfully sweet beverages loved by many, there is perhaps no better example than a glass of Kahlúa, a coffee-flavored liqueur made from sugar cane, rum, and coffee beans (and some say a pinch of Aztec magic).
While some have claimed the origin of the name Kahlúa was Arabic or Hawaiian, the truth is that the name Kahlúa comes from the Nahuatl language, spoken by the Aztec & Mexica people as far back as 700 AD/CE, in the state of Veracruz, in what is modern day Mexico. The word Kahlúa means ‘House of the Acolhua people,’ a people who were an ethnic group within the Aztec nation, and their descendants are spread throughout Mexico and the Americas today.
The birth of Kahlúa begins in the city of Veracruz, Mexico, one of the oldest and largest European-founded cities in the central American region, sitting on the Gulf of Mexico since 1509. As a major center of trade, and a vector between the Aztec Empire, the Spanish colonizers, and the Afro-Caribbean people of the Gulf of Mexico, Veracruz naturally became a massive melting pot for peoples, tastes, & ideas.
Into this melting pot came a group of men in 1936 who decided to combine their talents & their favorite tastes from the finest natural ingredients that grow side by side in the fields of rural Veracruz.
The collaboration included the Alvarez brothers - who supplied the Arabica coffee beans - Mexican businessman, entrepreneur, and rum producer Señor Blanco - who provided the sugar cane rum - and chemist Montalvo Lara, who developed the original recipe, transforming the Arabica coffee and sugar cane rum into the final product.
In 1940, Kahlúa began being exported to the U.S., becoming a favorite drink of many Americans. Eight years later, the famed Black Russian cocktail was born at a party in Brussels. This world-renowned drink is a winning combination of vodka and Kahlua, preferably around a single cube of ice. Seven years later, in Southern California, the White Russian was invented, as a lighter, creamier version of its darker predecessor.
One of Kahlúa’s most remarkable chapters unfolded in the 1960s, when Maria del Pilar Gutierrez Sesma rose from university auditor to General Manager. Under her leadership, Kahlúa International became a rare example of a major female-led business success in Mexico, earning admiration and media attention for the company, and for Señora Sesma as the leader of the “Kahlúa Ladies.”
Through wise management & smart business moves, global expansion followed, with production facilities built in Denmark and Scotland during the 1970s, where they adapted the recipe to local tastes.
In 1983, the Espresso Martini was created by legendary bartender Dick Bradsell, further cementing Kahlúa’s place in cocktail culture - and giving Olympic skiing legend Mikaela Shiffrin her favorite cocktail after the 2026 Winter Olympics.
In its 90 year history, Kahlúa has become a key ingredient in several notable cocktails, including:
Espresso Martini
White Russian
Black Russian
Mind Eraser
B-52
Baby Guinness
Brown Cow
Bushwhacker
Dirty Mother
Kahlúa Sour
Moose Milk
Spanish coffee
Our favorite use of Kahlúa though is a White Russian, which is what The Dude abides by…
NATIONAL KAHLUA DAY TIMELINE
1936 - Kahlúa is Born
The first Kahlúa is prepared in Mexico.
1940 - Kahlúa Goes to the U.S.
Kahlúa reaches the U.S., and people absolutely love it.
1948 - Here Comes The Black Russian
The famed Black Russian cocktail was born
1955 - America creates the White Russian
The White Russian is invented in Southern California
1960 - Kahlúa Becomes a Media & Business Sensation
Kahlúa receives national media attention in America due to its creative ads.
Kahlúa receives international business attention thanks to the many successes of the “Kahlúa Ladies”
1983 - Dick Bradsell Creates A Legend
The Espresso Martini is born
Today, 2026
Kahlua remains the number one coffee liqueur worldwide.
From Aztec magic, through Arabic coffee, with Spanish ingenuity, and Afro-Caribbean influence, through Russians & Americans, and the brilliance of the “Kahlúa Ladies,” today’s Drink Of The Day is a perfect mix - so we give to you our favorite Kahlúa drink, the White Russian.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’re going to need for this drink:
