What is the origin of the Pornstar Martini?

Douglas Ankrah invented the Pornstar Martini in 2003. Ankrah was brainstorming a cocktail menu for his bar, Townhouse when he came up with the idea.

What is a Pornstar Martini Made Up Of?

30ml / 3cl / 1oz of Vanilla Vodka, 30ml / 3cl / 1oz of Passoa, 10ml / 1cl / .3oz Passion Fruit Juice, 10ml / 1cl / .3oz Lime Juice, 1 shot of Prosecco and Half a Passion Fruit to Garnish

Passoa is a Passion Fruit Liqueur. It was invented in 1985 by the Rémy Cointreau Group and was distributed throughout Europe in 1986, expanding to the rest of the World by 1994.

Pornstar Martini Recipe - Quick & Easy Cocktail Recipe

Name: How to Make a Pornstar Martini: A Quick & Easy Cocktail Recipe
Prep time: 1 min
Cook time: 3 min
Total time: 4 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 30ml / 3cl / 1oz of Vanilla Vodka.; 30ml / 3cl / 1oz of Passoa.; 10ml / 1cl / .3oz Passion Fruit Juice.; 10ml / 1cl / .3oz Lime Juice.; 1 shot of Prosecco.; Half a Passion Fruit to Garnish

The Pornstar (also known as Passion Fruit) Martini combines the tangy flavour of passion fruit, with luxurious tones of vanilla, and a zesty kick of lime. The mix produces a remarkable drink.

how to make a pornstar martini - thatCocktail's easy pornstar martini recipe

Ingredients

To make a Pornstar (passion fruit) Martini you’ll need…

Fresh passion fruits
Vanilla Vodka
Passoa aka Passion Fruit Liqueur
Lime Juice
Prosecco (or Champagne)

Pro Tip

Use a little pineapple juice or passion fruit puree to add a little more froth to the mix.

How to Make a Pornstar Martini Cocktail

The Pornstar Martini cocktail may seem like a tough one to make, but let me tell you: it’s not.

It’s a recipe you make in less than 5 minutes, that produces one delicious drink.

Let’s dive right into the Porn Star Martini recipe.

Pornstar Martini

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Prep: 1 minMaking: 1 minTotal: 2 mins

Serving: 1 cocktail

Ingredients

Vanilla Vodka 30ml / 1oz.
Passoa 30ml / 1oz.
Passionfruit Juice 10ml / 0.3oz.
Lime Juice 10ml / 0.3oz.
Half a Passion Fruit and a shot of Prosecco

Recipe

With a Cocktail Shaker:

Add Ice, Vanilla Vodka, Passoa, Passionfruit Juice, and Lime Juice to your cocktail shaker.
Shake well.
Strain into a Cocktail Glass.
Garnish with Half a Passion Fruit and a shot of Prosecco.

Without:

Add Ice, Vanilla Vodka, Passoa, Passionfruit Juice, and Lime Juice to a Cocktail Glass.
Garnish with Half a Passion Fruit and a shot of Prosecco.

How to Make a Pornstar Martini Cocktail Infographic

How to Make a Pornstar Martini infographic.

Recipe Variations

The Pornstar Martini recipe above is widely accepted as being the standard, however, there are a couple of interesting variations out there.

These variations may improve the taste of your Pornstar Martini, depending on your tastes.

Extra Sweetness

The main variation is the addition of Sugar Syrup (or Vanilla Syrup or even Vanilla Sugar), which, as you might imagine, sweetens the cocktail.

Alternate Alcohol Base

Another great variation is the Pornstar Martini Gin recipe, which essentially substitutes the Vanilla Vodka for regular Gin and uses Vanilla Syrup to add that element of luxury to the taste.

Verdict

For me, the Pornstar Martini is sweet enough. I’ve tried adding both sugar syrup and vanilla syrup to my mixes and it’s just too sweet for me. I prefer the clean passion fruit tangy-sweetness, rather than the (what I consider) forced sweetness of sugar syrup or vanilla syrup.

That said, I can see the benefit of sweetening the mix if you’re using freshly squeezed passion fruit or fruit purée.

I think it comes down to taste – experiment to see what works for you!

The History of the Pornstar Martini

So where did the cocktail come from? Who made it? Why does it have such a provocative name? Let’s take a look…

The Story

A story from Fox News suggests that a bartender by the name of Douglas Ankrah created the cocktail in 1999. The article says Douglas Ankrah invented the cocktail in the LAB bar in London where he worked…

..But Fox News was wrong (if you can believe such a thing).

During an interview with PunchDrink in May 2019, Ankrah says that he invented the Pornstar Martini in 2003…

…I guess he would know, right?

The story goes: Ankrah was brainstorming a cocktail menu for his bar, Townhouse when he came up with the idea.

He says, “It was an instant hit.”

Humble in his genius idea, Ankrah also adds, “It was a complete accident. Sometimes writing a song can take two minutes or a year. I created this in 15 minutes or less. Like how Mick and Keith wrote ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ in 10 minutes.”

Today, the Pornstar Martini is considered a contemporary classic. It’s now served all over the world in every good cocktail bar on the market.

Name Controversy

The Pornstar Martini’s name is based on a tradition of provocatively named cocktails such as Sex on the Beach or the Sloe Comfortable Screw or even the Screaming Organism, however, recently the cocktail’s name has come up against a little controversy.

What was the controversy about?

In August 2019, it was reported that British retailing giants M&S were forced to rename their canned version of the Pornstar Martini.

M&S had decided to sell the canned drink in 2018 and apparently, shoppers immediately didn’t like it. The retailer was quickly accused of “normalising pornography”…

…Right. Sure they are. But whatever.

As a result, M&S was forced to change the name of their canned cocktail drink to a “Passion Fruit Martini”.

Whatever you think of this whole situation, I think the biggest takeaway from this whole thing is this: the Porn star Martini is that popular, M&S wanted to sell it on their shelves in cans.

Without, initially, changing the name of it to be a little more family-friendly.

FAQs

What Can I Use Instead of Passoa?

Passoa is a Passion fruit-flavoured liqueur, so for you to get the same great taste as a Pornstar Martini you’ll need to replace it like for like.

Passoa is the most popular brand on the market, but there are other brands such as Volaire Passion Fruit Liqueur and Gifford Passion Fruit Liqueur available (but they’re both a tad more expensive.

Without Liqueur

If you wanted to make the cocktail without Passoa, you could just add more Vodka and perhaps swap out the passion fruit Juice for passion fruit purée.

Passion fruit purée is a little more potent than passion fruit juice, so may add that extra passion fruit kick you’ll miss from Passoa.

Some recipe variations use Vodka Passion Fruit instead of Passoa, but also replace the Vanilla Vodka with Vanilla Syrup. That stretches the mix a little too far for my liking.

What Can I Use Instead of Passion Fruit Juice?

As mentioned above, one great replacement for passion fruit juice is passion fruit purée. It packs a bit more passion fruity punch than juice, but it’s tasty AF.

What does a Pornstar Martini taste like?

A Pornstar Martini is luxurious and fruity to the taste.

The vanilla vodka adds luxury, whilst the Passoa and passion fruit juice (or passion fruit purée) will give you that unmistakable passion fruit taste. Especially with that fresh passion fruit garnish (or if you’ve used freshly squeezed passion fruit juice).

Passion fruit can be an overwhelming flavour, so you have to get the mixture (and the shake) right to get the full experience this cocktail has to offer.

How many calories are there in a Pornstar Martini?

There are around 224 calories in a Pornstar Martini.

Want More Cocktail Ideas?

If you’re looking for more cocktail inspiration, then you should check out our cocktail recipes hub. Here you’ll find hundreds of cocktail recipes that you can browse for free.

However, if you’re looking for a nice little Pornstar Martini variation, check out our killer Pornstar Martini Gin recipe. It’s a fresh take on this modern classic and you’ll love it!