Fast-forward almost 20 years and, after a long hiatus, I've recently rediscovered the Black Russian. It's a simple cocktail -- just two parts vodka to one part Kahlua -- but it goes down easy and it packs an efficient punch.
According to the Wikipedia, the Black Russian "first appeared in 1949, and is ascribed to the Belgian barman Gustave Tops, who created it at the Hotel Metropole in Brussels in honor of Perle Mesta, then U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg. The cocktail owes its name to the dark period of the Cold War with the Soviet Union."
Hey, I can work with that! And when consumed in a vintage piece of American Airlines glassware in the safety and comfort of my own home... well, let's just say that the experience feels a lot flying First Class.