The Smith and Kearns is a Midwest supper-club special. Coffee liqueur, half-and-half, and soda water in a tall glass over ice. Drinks like a creamy coffee soda with a kick, and has the very specific energy of a 1970s Wisconsin restaurant where the appetiser arrives as a relish tray and the chef has been there since before you were born.

It was invented in the late 1950s at the Bull and Bears Lounge in Minot, North Dakota by a bartender named Oscar Walter Mathiason, who named it after two oil-drilling engineers he was serving that night. The drink became a regional standard and spread through the supper clubs of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas, where it is still ordered today by people who are very specific about how it is made.

It is a Black Russian’s cousin. Same coffee liqueur foundation. Where the Black Russian goes hard with vodka and stops there, the Smith and Kearns smooths everything out with cream and adds a soft fizz from soda water. The result is something more drinkable, less aggressive, and considerably easier to put away two of without noticing.

If you have never had one, picture an iced coffee that decided to be a dessert and then forgot to take itself seriously. That is the closest available comparison.

Scotty Boxa

Smith and Kearns

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A Midwest supper-club classic. Coffee liqueur, half-and-half, and soda water over ice. Drinks like a creamy coffee cordial with a soft fizz.

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Prep Time 2 minutes mins

Total Time 2 minutes mins

Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x?

• ▢ 1.5 oz Kahlua (or other coffee liqueur)
• ▢ 2 oz Half-and-half (or whole milk + cream)
• ▢ 2 oz Club soda or soda water to top
• ▢ Ice cubes
• ▢ Freshly grated nutmeg optional, traditional

Instructions

 

Build:

1. ▢
   Fill a tall highball or Collins glass with ice.
2. ▢
   Add Kahlua and half-and-half.
3. ▢
   Top with about 2 oz of soda water.
4. ▢
   Stir gently with a bar spoon to combine without breaking up the carbonation.

Garnish:

1. ▢
   Optional: a tiny dusting of freshly grated nutmeg on top. The supper clubs in Wisconsin would take it personally if you skipped this.

Nutrition

Calories: 160kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 2gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 0.05mgSugar: 12g

Notes

If half-and-half is hard to find (it is mostly an American product), use 1 oz whole milk and 1 oz heavy cream as a substitute. Same fat content, same texture.

The drink will look split for a second when you first build it. The soda fizz binds it together as you stir.

Servings: 1 cocktail

Calories: 160

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Tips That Actually Matter

• Build in the glass, do not shake. Shaking destroys the soda fizz. The whole texture of the drink depends on that gentle effervescence.
• Pour Kahlua first, dairy second, soda last. Layered correctly the drink looks beautiful for the first two seconds before you stir. Photograph it then.
• Use freshly grated nutmeg, not the powdered stuff. Powdered nutmeg has been sitting in someone’s pantry since the Carter administration and tastes like dust. A microplane and a whole nutmeg make a real difference.