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The Colorado Bulldog is essentially a White Russian with a splash of cola: it’s creamy, fizzy, and tastes like a spiked root beer float!
Here’s a sweet sippable cocktail that goes down easy: the Colorado Bulldog! The name might sound mysterious, but it’s essentially just a White Russian all dolled up with a splash of cola.
Serve it over ice with a cherry and a straw, and it’s a whole new drink. To me, it’s more like a root beer float than a cocktail! Here’s more about this drink and how to whip one up in minutes.
What Is a Colorado Bulldog?
The Colorado Bulldog is a cocktail made with vodka, coffee liqueur, cream and cola: it’s a variation on the White Russian. The story of the drink is unknown, but it’s possible that it became popular in the 1980s with a related cocktail, the Mind Eraser.
The Colorado Bulldog is a variation on both the White Russian and the Black Russian. The Black Russian was invented in 1949, apparently for the American ambassador to Luxembourg in a hotel bar in Brussels (here’s the back story). Adding cream to make it a White Russian started in 1955, and it was an instant hit. The Colorado Bulldog drink just adds a splash of cola.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are the four ingredients you’ll need for this drink:
Tips For Making a Colorado Bulldog
There’s really nothing to making this Colorado Bulldog recipe: it’s literally just a handful of ingredients stirred together in a glass. No cocktail shaker or mixing glass needed! Here are just a few tips to making the best drink:
- Make sure the cream is fresh before you start. The fresher the better.
- Serve in a highball glass like you see here, which further distinguishes this drink from a White Russian. Some people say this makes it simply a “Bulldog,” but we don’t see any reason to stray from the name. (Unless you’ve heard of this? Let us know in comments below.)
How to Keep the Cream From Curdling
Combining cola and heavy cream can sometimes cause the cream to curdle. Here’s what to do to avoid this:
Pour the cola in first, then float the cream on top. The cream dilutes as it sinks down instead of the acid hitting all the cream at once.
More About Kahlua
Kahlua is the most popular and easy to find coffee liqueur for making the Colorado Bulldog drink. You can use other types of coffee liqueur like Tia Maria or Sheridan’s, but we’re Kahlua fans over here. Here’s a little more about this popular liqueur:
- Kahlua is a coffee liqueur that’s made in Mexico with rum, sugar and coffee. Contrary to what you might think, there’s no dairy at all! Kahlua is naturally dark brown in color.
- Kahlua has caffeine, but it’s only about 25% as much as the same volume of coffee. It is 20% alcohol, making it a low alcohol liqueur. For more Kahlua drinks, try my Classic Mudslide, B-52, or the Bushwacker.
More Variations to Try
There are lots of cocktails that are related to the Colorado Bulldog drink, because of the popularity of that classic combo of Kahlua, vodka, and cream! Here are a few more in the family:
- Black Russian: the classic with Kahlua and vodka
- White Russian: another classic: Kahlua, vodka and cream
- Mind Eraser: a layered drink of Kahlua, vodka and soda water
- Mudslide: Kahlua, vodka and Irish cream
- Espresso Martini: Kahlua, vodka and espresso
- Smith & Wesson: Vodka, Kahlua, cream and cola or soda water
When to Serve a Colorado Bulldog
The Colorado Bulldog tastes like a root beer float, so I think of it most as an after dinner drink! Of course, you can drink it any time of the day. Try it as a:
- Happy hour drink
- Afternoon cocktail
- Summer drink
- Dessert cocktail
- Girls or guys night drink
- Cocktail hour drink
Frequently Asked Questions
Nobody knows for certain. One reader said below it was invented in a Colorado Springs bar in 1978, but there is no documentation of the origin story.
In Canada it’s called a Paralyzer, sometimes mixed with equal parts vodka and Kahlúa. A very similar drink is a Smith & Wesson, which can include either cola or soda water as the mixer.
Yes, you can use Baileys instead of cream fora sweeter, boozier drink. I would use slightly less Kahlua to adjust the sweetness.
You can also swap root beer for the cola if you like! It will lean even sweeter.
The Colorado Bulldog
The Colorado Bulldog is essentially a White Russian with a splash of cola: it’s creamy, fizzy, and tastes like a spiked root beer float!
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Total Time: 2 minutes
- Yield: 1 drink 1x
- Category: Drink
- Method: Stirred
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten-Free, Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 2 ounces* vodka
- 1 ounce Kahlua or other coffee liqueur (like Tia Maria or Sheridan’s)
- 1 ounce heavy cream
- 2 ounces cola
- Ice, for serving
- Cocktail cherry, for garnish
Instructions
- Fill a highball glass with ice. Add the vodka and Kahlua.
- Pour in the cola. Then top with the cream and stir gently. Serve immediately.
Notes
*For conversion to tablespoons, 1 ounce = 2 tablespoons.
The Colorado Bulldog was first introduced in 1978 in Colorado Springs, CO at The Musical Spoon off of Pikes Peak Ave. It was invented by the bartender’s boyfriend who became her husband. I sampled the drink then and still drink it to this day.
I ‘ ve been making the “Colorado Bullldogs” in Canada for about 40 years. There is a bit of a difference, we call them Paralyzers and make them with equal amounts of Vodka and Kahlua. You can avoid the curdling issue by adding the cola first then adding the milk. Cheers!
Regarding your supposition the Colorado Bulldog May be related to the mind eraser, I suggest a more probable origin – the much older Smith and Wesson….check it out