Mudslide

Cream liqueur splits when it meets acid or heat. Keep citrus of any kind away from the glass, don't build it in a warm tumbler, and check that the Irish cream has not turned. Once it separates there is no rescuing it, so start again with cold bottles.

That is the version most bars serve, and it is a milkshake with alcohol in it. Blended, the coffee and chocolate flatten out and everything gets sweeter. On the rocks you can still taste the vodka. Decide whether you want a drink or a dessert.

Six months refrigerated is the usual guidance and most bottles print a date. Trust your nose over the label: if it smells sour, or the liquid looks grainy as it pours, throw it out. Storing it warm shortens that window considerably.

Cut the coffee liqueur to 20 ml and pour 20 ml of cold espresso in its place. Real coffee returns the bitterness the liqueur trades away for sugar. A few grains of salt on top does more than you would expect as well.

A classic Mudslide calls for 30 ml (1 oz) Vodka, 30 ml (1 oz) Coffee liqueur, 30 ml (1 oz) Irish cream. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

A standard Mudslide is roughly 26% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it spirit-forward — closer to a Martini than to a beer, so sip it slowly.

A Mudslide is stirred, not shaken. It contains no citrus juice, so stirring keeps it crystal clear and silky instead of cloudy and aerated.