I’ve got a fun cocktail for you today – think of a White Russian with a Canadian-style twist, using one of my very favorite liquors, Crown Royal Maple! This is a cocktail that my sister, Lauren, and I came up with while they were visiting me in Buffalo a while back. It started out as just a cocktail with the Crown Maple and cream, but we made it many more times and both of us have found ways that we like it best. I’m sharing my favorite version of it today.
Between the three of us (I have two sisters, Jenny and Lauren), I look like the worst influence when it comes to alcohol, since pretty much every time we’re together, I get us into a liquor store, and we end up buying way more than we probably should. I have a lot of fun crafting cocktails, so I have quite a wide array of liquors and cordials so I can whip up whatever I want on a whim. I’d rather make it myself than go to a bar, so I figure I’m saving money in the long run, right? If I don’t end up bringing some of my bar along with me when we get together, we usually end up going and buying more. This is what happened when we had a sister weekend at Lauren’s in August (Jenny’s husband, Mark, was an honorary sister for the weekend and had just as much fun crafting cocktails, although he stuck with Moscow Mules). I’m totally happy with the result of our purchases, though, because this was the weekend Lauren and I finally got down to figuring out how we like our White Canadians!
My style of a White Canadian is basically just your standard White Russian substituting maple whiskey for the vodka. I keep the Kahlúa in there for the sweetness, and it really gives it the best flavor. I mean, duh, maple, coffee, a slight hint of chocolate flavor… it’s perfect. Of course, I’m a whiskey lover, too, so I love that I can actually taste the whiskey, instead of the flavorless vodka in the White Russian. Finish it off with milk or cream, and yum yum yum. I usually use almond milk since we’re lactose-intolerant in this house, so I very rarely have actual milk on hand (although, let’s keep it real – we almost always have full-out dairy ice cream in the freezer…go figure). The recipe pictured is using almond milk, which gives it more of a beige color, rather than the creamy white you’ll get from regular milk. No worries, it’s delicious either way! Lauren always uses regular milk or cream for hers.
Lauren’s style of the White Canadian takes out the Kahlúa and adds in Godiva chocolate liqueur. So if you don’t think the slight chocolate essence you get from Kahlúa is enough, go crazy with the straight-up chocolate liqueur like Lauren does. I thought her version was extremely tasty, too, but I liked mine better (and Jenny agreed with me). 😉 I’ll include her version within the notes of the recipe.
This time when I made my version, I coated the rim of the martini glass with equal amounts of raw cane sugar and kosher salt. It was such a nice complement to this drink! Also, funny story for you guys (although it was infuriating to me at the time). If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you probably already saw this, but while I was shooting the photos for this recipe, Morty, the fluffy monster Maine Coon, decided to jump up and knock everything down, breaking one of the martini glasses and covering everything in sugar and salt. Luckily, I hadn’t poured the drinks yet, but oy! He’s two years old, but I’m pretty sure he’s never going to get out of his kitten stage. I yelled so loud (a nice long ‘ARRRGHH’ of surprise) that he put himself into time out upstairs in a corner until I was done shooting. He can figure things out sometimes. 😉 Anyway…
Since it’s finally just about fall – our local orchard just starting pressing apple cider this week! – I felt that it was the perfect time to share this cocktail. Maple syrup just screams fall to me, and I’m all about whiskey just about anytime. Grab a group of friends, go apple picking, and then come back home and whip up some of these cocktails to finish off the day. You won’t regret it!
Do you like to create your own cocktails? What is your favorite cocktail that you’ve made?
- 1.5 oz. Crown Royal Maple Finished Whiskey (or other maple whiskey)
- 1.5 oz. Kahlúa*
- 3 oz. milk or cream (I use almond milk most of the time)
Place a couple of ice cubes into a rocks glass or martini glass. Add the maple whiskey and Kahlúa, and top with the cream or milk. Stir until smooth. Enjoy!
If you're feeling fancy, you can rim the martini or rocks glasses with equal amounts of raw cane sugar and kosher salt for some sweet and salty action to go along with your drink - it goes great with it! To do this, dip the rim of each glass in water, and then dip into the sugar and salt mixture.
*For my sister, Lauren's version, use 1.5 oz. of Godiva chocolate liqueur or another similar chocolate liqueur in place of the Kahlúa.