If ever a cocktail’s name grabs your attention, it’s this one. We proudly introduce the Porn Star Martini, a cocktail that makes you look at the word cocktail a bit differently.
This is no smut-peddling depravity, though — this cocktail recipe is delicious, sweet, citrusy, and only turns you into a porn star 69% of the time (don’t fact-check). Below we share the story of the porn star martini, which is perhaps less raunchy than you had hoped for. We’ll make up for this by spicing it up with some sordid puns and lots of references to passion…fruit.
If you’re offended by such things, maybe just skip down to the bottom.
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The Story of the Porn Star Martini
What is the Porn Star Martini? It’s definitely not vanilla…though admittedly, it contains vanilla-flavored vodka. It’s also definitely not a martini but follows the trend of including that term in its name. Instead, it’s a citrusy sweet, wildly popular concoction that became the most-ordered cocktail in the United Kingdom in November 2018.
It’s full of passion (fruit), a squirt of lime juice, and several other ingredients that don’t lend themselves as well to puns, and therefore, we’ll save for the actual recipe below.
How did this pornacular potation come to be? It’s actually a British invention, coined in 2002 by bartender Douglas Ankrah. Ankrah was the owner of the LAB London Bar in London and another bar called Townhouse. He created the drink after being inspired by a visit to Cape Town, South Africa.
Naturally, the name stirred up some controversy. Some claim that it normalizes pornography — though that’s a bit like saying that Sex on the Beach normalizes sex, but anyway. Ankrah stated in interviews that he chose the name because “porn star” evokes a confident, sexy, fun, evocative experience that’s at once stylish and indulgent.
More on Douglas Ankrah
It’s worth talking a bit more about Douglas Ankrah. He became a voice of advocacy for bartenders worldwide when he spoke up about monetizing original creations — in his case, the Porn Star Martini.
Ankrah’s LAB bar became one of the pivotal spots in London around the early 2000s. When he invented the Porn Star, it became the salvation for his new bar, Townhouse.
Ankrah believed that bartenders need more than good technique. They need to be creative, industrious, and entrepreneurial. If they create a great drink, Ankrah’s ethos is that they should be able to capitalize on it. Otherwise, all of the money from their work goes into the hands of big companies.
Unfortunately, Ankrah died too young in 2021 at age 51. However, his legacy lives on in the popular, fun cocktail he created and the solid advice he has to offer bartenders looking to make a future for themselves.
How to Make the Perfect Porn Star Martini
Now comes the time to make your own version of the Porn Star Martini. Below you’ll find the ingredients. It’s not the simplest cocktail — nothing that includes vodka, Passoã, and pureed passion fruit could be called simple — but it’s damn good, and you won’t regret the time you put into it.
Check out the ingredients, health and prep information, and instructions below to get started.
- Prep Time 10 Minutes
- Cook Time 5 Minutes
- Total Time 15 Minutes
- Serves 1 People
- Calories 225 kcal
Ingredients
- 1-½ fl. oz. Vanilla-flavored vodka
- ½ fl. oz. passion fruit liqueur (De Kuyper or Passoã are good options)
- 1 fl. oz. Passion fruit puree
- ½ fl. oz. fresh-squeezed lime juice
- ½ fl. oz vanilla simple syrup
- 2 fl. oz. chilled sparkling wine
- ½ cup passion fruit (for garnish)
Instructions
- Grab your shaker and fill it with ice.
- Add all the ingredients except the sparkling wine, and shake it vigorously until the whole mix is well chilled.
- Strain the mixture into a cold coupe glass and add half of a passion fruit for garnish.
- That sparkling wine is served on the side as a sidecar. Some recipes add it to the drink itself — we’ll leave that bit of experimentation up to you.
