Summer is here. Yes, it officially starts next week if you’re following our trip around the sun exactly, but we all know it’s here now and it’s time to drink some summer cocktails. That means that it’s time to name our official UPROXX Summer Cocktail of 2023! In the past, we’ve highlighted some absolute gems: the Paloma, the Beer Spritz, the Long Island Iced Tea, the Singapore Sling…
And now — for 2023 — we’re going with the Porn Star Martini. An ode to sexiness and style and the interplay between minimalism and maximalism.
The Porn Star Martini has a very lively history that dates all the way back to the early 2000s. Back in 2002, cocktail legend Douglas Ankrah created the drink in London. Ankrah was looking for an iconic drink that he could trademark and actually call his own. He reached into his Ghanan upbringing and created a tropical fruit-forward and vanilla-heavy sour that he called a “martini” likely because that was all the rage at the time. Remember the Appletini?
Anyway, the cocktail became iconic and has stood the test of time by remaining a cornerstone of bar menus for over two decades now. The “porn star” part is a little murkier as Ankrah claimed that it just sounded “sexy” more than anything else. Which, sure, he’s not wrong.
Today, the fruity vanilla vodka drink still slaps and is amazingly refreshing, especially as a summer sipper. The best part? It is served with a prosecco sidecar that serves as a palate cleanser before you sip the cocktail. The mix of refreshing passion fruit and vanilla with a side of bubbly just works and leaves you wanting more. What else do you need from a summery drink?
Let’s dive in and shake one up while popping a bottle of Italian bubbly!
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Porn Star “Martini”
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz. vanilla vodka
- 1 oz. passionfruit puree
- 0.5 oz. passion fruit liqueur
- 0.5 oz. fresh lime juice
- 0.5 oz. simple syrup
- Ice
- Dried orange wheel
- 2 oz. chilled prosecco
This one can be a pain in the ass to source. Not every liquor store is going to have both passion fruit liqueur and passion fruit puree. Your best bet is to order those ahead online. Alternatively, if you can find fresh whole passion fruit, you can use half of the soft fruit in the shaker and double strain for the puree component — which is ideal, really. But that’s not the easiest fruit to find everywhere either.
I ended up using Kinky Pink which is a passion fruit liqueur cut with a hint of mango and triple sec (orange). It gets the job done and adds to the citrus vibe of the overall drink. Then I used fresh passion fruit juice from the grocery store, which is also perfectly fine and prestrained of seeds.
Then there’s the vanilla vodka. I really don’t like that stuff but the boldness of the rest of the cocktail makes it very tolerable. It becomes a subtle layer instead of an overpowering saccharine star of the show. Meaning that in this drink, I dig it.
Lastly, there’s the bubbly sidecar. This tradition dates back centuries — most notably in Berlin’s cocktail scene. A champagne sidecar or shot of champagne was often taken before a shot of vodka or fruity brandy schnapps as a palate cleanser that allowed your senses to get the subtle nuances of the vodka or schnapps much more clearly. It’s still a tradition in Berlin’s best cocktail bars to this day. Ask for a “Hilde” if you want to try it the next time you’re there.
The bubbly definitely amps up the experience here. I grabbed this one for $15. It adds an almost magical layer to the porn star martini that allows the lime, vanilla, and passion fruit to explode (sorry) on the first sip when it hits your palate.
What You’ll Need:
- A coupe or cocktail glass (prechilled)
- 2 oz. shot glass
- Cocktail shaker
- Cocktail strainer
- Fine strainer
- Jigger
- Hand juicer
- Pairing knife
Method:
- Prechill your glasses.
- Add the vodka, passion fruit puree, simple, lime, and passion fruit liqueur to the cocktail shaker. Add a large handful of ice, affix the lid, and shaker vigorously for about 20 seconds.
- Double-strain the cocktail into the prechilled coupe.
- Garnish with a dried orange wheel or passion fruit wheel (if you’re using fresh fruit) and serve with a two-ounce sidecar of prosecco.
Bottom Line:
If you’re a vanilla head, you’re going to love this drink. It’s so fresh and light with this thick layer of vanilla fondant underneath that just makes sense somehow. It’s like this syrupy passion fruit upside-down cake in light and almost effervescent cocktail form. It’s delicious.
The prosecco sidecar proved essential. It ended up being about three sips throughout the cocktail. With each sip, the “martini” got more and more bold and beautifully creamy with a deep citrus lightness. It works so well that I might start experimenting with more bubbly sidecars with other cocktails now.
