A sweet and spicy gingerbread cocktail that is just perfect for the holidays. A typical creamy White Russian, spiked with an easy homemade gingerbread syrup. Use extra gingerbread syrup in your coffee or tea for another fun treat!
Gingerbread white russian
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 1 drink (easily multiplied) 1x
- Category: Cocktails
Description
A sweet and spicy gingerbread cocktail that is just perfect for the holidays. A typical creamy White Russian, spiked with an easy homemade gingerbread syrup. Use extra gingerbread syrup in your coffee or tea for another fun treat!
Ingredients
Gingerbread Syrup
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup water
- 4-inch piece ginger, peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon allspice berries
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
Gingerbread White Russian
- 2 oz (4 tablespoons) vodka
- 1 oz (2 tablespoons) coffee liqueur ( I generally use Kahlua)
- 1 oz (2 tablespoons) heavy cream
- ½ - 1 oz (1-2 tablespoons) gingerbread syrup
Instructions
Make Gingerbread Syrup:
- Combine ¾ cup brown sugar and ¾ cup water in a small pot or pan. Add a 4-inch piece of ginger, chopped, 1 tablespoon allspice berries, 1 teaspoon whole cloves, 1 cinnamon stick (I like to break in half) and ½ teaspoon black peppercorns.
- Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Turn off heat and let syrup cool for at least another 20 minutes.
- Strain syrup and store in an airtight container. This will be enough syrup for 6-8 drinks, depending on how sweet you like them. Leftovers will stay great in the fridge for up to two weeks (stir some into your coffee!!).
Make Gingerbread White Russian
- Combine 2 oz vodka, 1 oz coffee liqueur, 1 oz heavy cream and ½ - 1 oz gingerbread syrup (depending on how sweet you like your drinks) to a shaker.
- Add ice and shake for 30 seconds or until shaker is ice cold and drink is completely mixed and frothy.
- Strain into glass and garnish as desired. Cheers!
Notes
- If you don't like shaken drinks, you can still make this the "old fashioned" way - just combine the vodka, coffee liqueur and gingerbread syrup in your glass of choice and stir very well. Add cream and stir again (or just let it swirl around all pretty like).
Looking for a cocktail that is sweet, creamy and perfectly cozy, but can also knock you off your feet? You've come to the right place!
While I often spend an entire winter season just drinking whiskey in any and every form, I do love a fun holiday cocktail every once in a while.
And one that can basically do double duty as dessert? SOLD.
What is a White Russian?
If you're not familiar, a White Russian is a cocktail made with vodka, coffee liqueur and heavy cream. And that's it! While I've seen various "recipes" over the years, they are generally pretty simple and often call for equal parts of all three ingredients. Sometimes cream is replaced with half-and-half or whole milk to make it a tad bit lighter.
But that's not what we're about today. So heavy cream it is!
Because I'm adding a syrup, I like to shake all the ingredients together to make sure it all really combines. Shaking also gives the final drink a kind of milkshake-esque quality, which I obviously adore.
However, you can also just stir this drink together over ice. Stir well to ensure the gingerbread syrup incorporates!
Speaking of....let's talk gingerbread syrup
I mean, it is the holidays after all. You all know how much I LOVE ginger, so clearly anything sweet AND gingery is right up my alley.
There is no shortage of gingerbread syrup recipes in the world, and I'd highly suggest you make adjustments based on the flavors you like.
Here are the basics of mine:
Brown sugar: While you can absolutely use white sugar (which is more typical for simple syrups), I love the extra sweetness and depth brown sugar gives to this syrup. It's a tad bit caramel-like, but holds up really well to the intense spices we're going to add!
Ginger: File this under DUH. I use a whole bunch of ginger, but this is definitely something you can adjust based on your own taste. In order to get the most flavor in a short-ish amount of time, peel and chop your ginger before adding to the sugar and water.
Spices: Because I don't want a finished drink that is TOO sweet, I over-spice this gingerbread syrup so that a little goes a long way. I used a mix of cinnamon, cloves and allspice berries for this which are pretty typical gingerbread-flavors. (P.S. I used the star anise because I thought they were pretty in photos - they aren't in the syrup!)
The hardest part of this recipe is waiting for the syrup to cool before using. If you are impatient like me, you can pour everything into a glass or bowl (spices, ginger and all!) and set that over a bowl of ice. Let it sit for a few minutes, stirring well, and then strain once cool.
Hope you enjoy this fun holiday cocktail!
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