12 Popular Kahlua Drinks to Try Today

One of the most famous Kahlua drinks is the White Russian! This cocktail mixes vodka with coffee liqueur and cream in a decadently creamy, searingly sweet beverage. Perhaps you know it from the 1990’s movie The Big Lebowski, but this drink has been around since the 1950’s.

History: The Black Russian was created in 1949 for the American ambassador to Luxembourg in a hotel bar in Brussels. Adding cream to make a White Russian started in 1955 in Oakland, California.

Another popular Kahlua cocktail is the Mudslide! This classic drink is shaken with coffee liqueur and Irish cream and served up in a cocktail glass. You can also make the frozen version that's more like a boozy milkshake: blend it up with vanilla ice cream.

History: The Mudslide was invented in the mid-1970’s on Grand Cayman Island at a bar called Wreck Bar. A customer ordered a White Russian, but the bar didn’t have heavy cream. They did happen to be stocked with Irish cream and the Mudslide was born.

The Espresso Martini is an after dinner drink that doubles as dessert! Bittersweet coffee pairs perfectly with the rich sweetness of Kahlua. Add vodka and the trio makes a full-flavored sophisticated drink that tastes cool, frothy, and just sweet enough.

History: The Espresso Martini was invented in 1983. A bartender at the Soho Brasserie in London named Dick Bradsell created the drink for a patron who asked for a drink to wake her up. It went on to become very popular in the 2020's.

This Kahlua drink is creamy, chocolaty, and icy: the Bushwacker! It's equal parts refreshing and rich: a mashup of a chocolate milkshake and piña colada. It’s lusciously smooth with notes of chocolate, coffee and vanilla, perfect for sipping poolside or as a dessert drink.

History: This drink was invented in 1975 in St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. Bartender Angie Conigliaro and restaurant manager Tom Brokamp named it after a guest’s dog, an Afghan hound named Bushwack.

This sweet coffee-flavored liqueur is at it’s best in a cup of joe, and it works any time of the day. Add it to morning coffee for a brunch pick-me-up, or serve it as a dessert drink topped with whipped cream like the popular Irish coffee. Add a hint of cream or just serve it black like a Black Russian: it’s delicious whatever variation you choose.

Here’s a layered Kahlua drink: the B 52! The pairing of Kahlua coffee liqueur, sweet Irish cream, and orange liqueur is deliciously classy. You can drink it as an dinner drink in a stemmed cocktail glass, or in the traditional ways as a shot.

History: The most popular origin story for the drink is that it was invented in 1977 by Peter Fich at the Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta, Canada, who named it after the band The B-52s.

The Black Russian is classic cocktail from the 1950’s that works as an dinner drink or afternoon pick-me-up. It’s got just 2 ingredients and tastes like a dessert! You might know its more popular cream-filled cousin, the White Russian, but this is the original version of this drink.

History: This classic cocktail was invented back in 1949, when it was created in a hotel bar in Brussels for the American ambassador to Luxembourg. The drink was named for the vodka and the black color of the coffee liqueur.

Try this refreshing twist on the classic: the frozen espresso martini! This easy recipe blends 4 ingredients into a creamy, frosty puree with rich coffee undertones. It's a Kahlua cocktail that hits the spot in any season, and simple to whip up in a blender.

This1980’s cocktail is a bubbly and refreshing coffee cocktail, beautifully layered in a glass. Essentially a fizzy Black Russian, it’s also fairly low alcohol for a cocktail. For all its bravado, it’s really not about to erase your mind if you drink just one (which is what I recommend).

This sweetly sippable cocktail is essentially a White Russian with a splash of cola. Serve it over crushed ice with a cherry and a straw, and it’s a whole new drink! It tastes more like a root beer float than a cocktail.

This creamy drink balances vodka, amaretto, and Kahlua for a flavor that’s surprisingly similar to toasted almonds. Something about the coffee liqueur adds in a roasty flavor that makes this drink both balanced and intriguing.

Spanish coffee is actually an American spin on the Spanish concept of carajillo: spiked coffee. This drink has a caramelized sugar rim and is spiked with Kahlua, rum, and orange liqueur, then topped with hand-whipped fluffy whipped cream! The burnt caramel, citrus, bitter coffee, and sweet cream notes make an incredible combination.

History: This American-spin on Spanish coffee was invented at Huber’s Bar in Portland, Oregon in the 1970's by co-owner James Louie.