Pornstar Martini

The Pornstar Martini is one of the biggest cocktail hits of the last twenty-five years, and for a long stretch it was one of the most ordered drinks in British bars. Douglas Ankrah created it in the early 2000s at Townhouse, his bar in Knightsbridge, London. It started life as the Maverick Martini before Ankrah gave it the name that made it famous. He later said he pictured it as the kind of confident, indulgent drink a porn star might order, and the name did the rest. Ankrah died in 2021, and the drink remains his best-known legacy.

It is built on vanilla vodka, passion fruit liqueur, passion fruit puree, fresh lime and vanilla syrup, shaken hard and strained into a coupe. Half a passion fruit floats on top, and a shot of chilled sparkling wine comes on the side. That shot causes more debate than anything else about the drink. Some people pour it in and some knock it back first, but Ankrah is said to have meant it as a palate cleanser to sip between mouthfuls.

The flavor is pure tropical fun. Passion fruit brings a big, tart, perfumed hit, the vanilla rounds it out into something close to dessert, and the lime stops it from getting cloying. Shaking the puree hard gives it a light foam on top, and the cold, dry bubbles on the side reset your palate for the next sip.

Glass: Cocktail glass | Strength: Medium | Serves: 1 | Prep Time: 5 minutes

Bartenders tip: Use real passion fruit puree or the scooped pulp of fresh fruit, strained if you do not want the seeds. Passoã is the usual choice for the liqueur. Keep the prosecco very cold and serve it in a shot glass rather than topping the drink, so the cocktail keeps its foam. Float the passion fruit half cut side up so it sits on the foam instead of sinking.