Porn Star Martini

The Porn Star Martini is a modern classic cocktail combining vanilla vodka, passion fruit liqueur, passion fruit puree, freshly squeezed lime juice, and vanilla simple syrup. The drink is traditionally served with a sidecar of chilled sparkling wine.

Douglas Ankrah, the late Ghana-born bartender and entrepreneur, “created this in 15 minutes or less” for the opening menu at Townhouse in the affluent Knightsbridge neighborhood in London in 2002. 

In an interview with Distilled UK, before he passed in 2021, Ankrah recounts the origins of his most famous creation. “When I was writing my book Shaken & Stirred in South Africa, the solitude often got a bit much, so I would occasionally frequent a rather louche gentleman’s club called Mavericks in Cape Town,” he says. “When I got back to London, I wanted to add a cocktail to the menu that was a bit naughty, and initially called it the Maverick Martini. I then described it as the kind of cocktail that would be ordered by a pornstar, and the name stuck.” 

The luscious combination of vanilla and passion fruit flavors alongside a shot of sparkling wine has become so popular since its creation over twenty years ago, the drink is now considered a modern classic.

Why the Pornstar Martini works

“The ritual, the theatre of the serve and the simplicity of the flavors,” Ankrah told Distilled UK, when asked what makes the Porn Star Martini a classic.

This adapted recipe calls for passion fruit liqueur as well as a puree of passion fruit for a more intense blend of tangy acidity. The tropical fruit has a slightly musky, floral quality that makes for a distinctive flavor profile. 

Lime juice is added to balance out the sweetness in the liqueur and the vanilla simple syrup. The base spirit of vanilla vodka helps to amp up the rich and perfumy characteristics while adding a little more complexity to the drink. The halved passion fruit garnish helps to make this one of the most recognizable cocktails, especially alongside a chilled shot of sparkling wine or Champagne. 

In Ankrah’s 2004 cocktail book Shaken and Stirred, he refers to the ritual around the large garnish and bubbly. “Dunk the passionfruit in the Martini glasses, with spoons: the idea is to fish out the fruit, eat it with the spoon, drink the Champagne, and then enjoy the cocktail at leisure.”