Porn Star Martini Recipe

I have a confession to make. For the longest time, I refused to order this drink. Not because I didn’t like the sound of it—passion fruit, vanilla, bubbles—that’s basically my dream in a glass. But the name. It felt like too much. Like wearing a sequin dress to a Monday morning meeting.

Then a friend put one in front of me about five years ago, and I took a sip. And another. And then I just sort of… forgot about the name entirely. Because the thing is, this cocktail isn’t trying to be scandalous. It’s trying to taste like a sunset in the tropics, and it absolutely nails it.

Douglas Ankrah created this back in the early 2000s at London’s Townhouse bar, and whether it was named after a perfume or a dancer or just a really memorable night out, the drink itself has outlived all the stories. It’s been twenty years. Trends have come and gone. But people still want that sweet-tart passion fruit hit with vanilla softness and a side of Champagne. That’s not a gimmick. That’s just a really good recipe.

I’ve made these at home for birthdays, for New Year’s, and once on a random Tuesday just because the market had perfect passion fruit. Every single time, someone says “Wait, what’s it called again?” and then laughs. And every single time, they ask for the recipe before they finish.

Ingredients Needed for the Recipe

• 1 ½ ounces vanilla vodka – This is your backbone. It gives body and that cozy vanilla warmth without being sweet on its own. I like Absolut Vanilia or you can DIY it by steeping a split vanilla bean in regular vodka for a few days.
• ½ ounce passion fruit liqueur – Passoã is the usual suspect here. It’s syrupy, tropical, and that bright orange color feels very on-brand. De Kuyper makes one too. Both work.
• 1 ounce passion fruit puree – This is where the real tangy, seedy magic comes from. You can buy frozen puree or just scoop the pulp from fresh fruit and blitz it.
• ½ ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed – Do not use the green bottle stuff. You need that sharp little edge to cut through all the sweetness.
• ½ ounce vanilla simple syrup – You can buy this or make it in five minutes. Equal parts sugar and water, a split vanilla bean or extract, simmer, cool, done.
• 2 ounces sparkling wine, chilled – Served on the side, not in the shaker. This is your palate cleanser and your little toast.
• Garnish: ½ passion fruit, fresh – A floating half looks stunning and you get to scoop the seeds out as you drink. It’s interactive. People love that.

How to Make Porn Star Martini?

Step 1 – Chill Your Glassware

I always forget this step and then my drink is warm by the third sip. Stick your coupe glass and your little sidecar shot glass in the freezer for at least ten minutes before you start. If you’re in a hurry, fill them with ice while you mix. A cold glass makes a huge difference here.

Step 2 – Combine the Liquid Ingredients

Grab your cocktail shaker and pour in the vanilla vodka, passion fruit liqueur, passion fruit puree, fresh lime juice, and vanilla simple syrup. There’s no sparkling wine in here yet. That stays far away from the shaking process. Bubbles and shaking do not mix unless you want a geyser situation in your kitchen.

Step 3 – Shake Like You Mean It

Fill the shaker with ice. Not a few cubes—fill it. Then close it up and shake hard for about twelve to fifteen seconds. You want it properly diluted and icy cold. This drink should feel smooth, not syrupy thick. The shaking helps everything marry together and adds that slight airiness to the texture.

Step 4 – Strain and Pour

Dump the ice out of your chilled coupe. Double strain if your puree has big fibrous chunks or if you don’t want seeds floating around. I personally don’t mind a few stragglers, but some people prefer it silky. Your call. Pour the bright orange liquid into the center of the glass.

Step 5 – Garnish and Serve

Take your fresh passion fruit half and gently place it on top of the drink, cut side up. It floats. It looks gorgeous. Pour your chilled sparkling wine into the little sidecar glass. Put everything on a small plate or napkin so the glasses sit together. Serve immediately and watch people’s faces light up.

Tips

• Fresh lime juice is non-negotiable. Bottled juice tastes flat and metallic and it will drag the whole drink down. A tiny Persian lime gives you just enough juice, no waste.
• If you can’t find fresh passion fruit for garnish, a lime wheel or even an edible orchid works visually. But the fruit half really is the star here. It tells people what they’re about to taste.
• Make your own vanilla syrup. Store-bought is often too thin or tastes fake. One vanilla bean split down the middle, one cup water, one cup sugar. Simmer gently. You’ll have extra for coffee and pancakes and next week’s cocktails.
• Shake hard. Not polite. Hard. You want that frothy microfoam on top when you pour.
• Pre-batch this for parties. Mix everything except the bubbles in a large pitcher, refrigerate, and shake individual portions to order. Your future self will thank you.

How to Pick and Prep Passion Fruit

Passion fruit can be intimidating if you’ve never bought one. You want the ugly ones. Seriously. The wrinklier, the older, the sweeter. Smooth purple or yellow skins mean the fruit is still underripe and mouth-puckeringly sour. Give them a few days on the counter until they look like they’ve been through something.

To cut, hold the fruit steady on a board and slice horizontally through the equator. Not through the stem end. You want two equal halves with the seeds beautifully exposed. Use a small spoon to scoop out the pulp if you’re making puree. For garnish, just place the half right on top and let people dig in themselves.

I keep frozen passion fruit pulp in my freezer year-round. The fresh ones have a short season and they’re expensive, but the frozen stuff is usually flash-ripened and actually tastes more consistent. Goya makes a good one, or check the international aisle for pulp bricks. Thaw overnight in the fridge.

Ways to Change It Up

Sometimes I swap the vanilla vodka for unflavored vodka and add a split vanilla bean to my simple syrup. It gives you more control over the intensity. If you’re feeling spicy, a tiny pinch of cayenne in the shaker is wild. It doesn’t read as heat, just warmth.

For a lower-sugar version, cut the vanilla simple syrup entirely and rely on the liqueur and puree for sweetness. It’s a little sharper, more tart, but still balanced. I’ve also made this with a honey syrup instead of vanilla syrup and it was unexpectedly good—floral and deep.

Non-alcoholic? Not really the same, but I’ve used Seedlip Spice, a good quality passion fruit syrup, and lime, shaken hard, served with a non-alcoholic sparkling wine on the side. It scratches the itch if you’re abstaining.

The sidecar doesn’t have to be sparkling wine, either. I’ve been served this with a sidecar of dry rosé, which was lovely, and once with a tiny shot of cold brewed jasmine tea. Unorthodox, but the floral notes played well with the passion fruit.

Storing and Prepping Ahead

This is not a drink that sits well after it’s been shaken. The ice dilutes it, the puree settles, and it loses that lively texture. But you can absolutely prep the components days ahead.

The vanilla simple syrup keeps in the fridge for a good three weeks. Passion fruit puree, once opened, is good for about a week or you can freeze it in ice cube trays for single-batch portions. I measure out one-ounce cubes so I can just pop two into the shaker and go.

Do not pre-mix the wet ingredients with the lime juice more than a few hours ahead. Lime juice oxidizes and gets weird. If you’re hosting, measure everything except the lime into a bottle, refrigerate, and squeeze fresh right before shaking.

Leftover sparkling wine? Drink it. Or make mimosas in the morning. No judgment here.

Why This Drink Stuck Around

I think about this sometimes when I’m muddling fruit or running out to buy yet another lime. There are thousands of cocktails out there. Most of them disappear. This one didn’t.

Part of it is the presentation—the floating fruit, the sidecar, that electric orange color. It feels special. But mostly it’s the flavor. Passion fruit is naturally polarizing in the best way. It’s sour enough to make your cheeks pull back, sweet enough to soothe them. Vanilla rounds off the edges. Lime keeps everything honest.

And the sidecar of bubbles isn’t just decoration. It’s a pause button. You take a sip of something rich and then you cleanse and you go again. It slows down the drinking, makes you pay attention.

I don’t think about the name anymore. I think about who I’m making it for, and whether I remembered to chill the glasses, and if there’s enough passion fruit for one more round. That’s the mark of a real classic, I think. When the story falls away and all that’s left is how good it tastes.