Pornstar Martini or Passion Fruit Martini?
The Pornstar Martini, was given its provocative name to fuel a reaction, and that it certainly did. It was first created in 1999 by the late Douglas Ankrah in his legendary bar; LAB, in Soho London. It wasn’t until he opened the Townhouse though, that the Pornstar Martini really took off.
As times have gone on the use of such naming has been scrutinised, and many have argued its infamous name, with old skool bartenders voting to keep its roots, and new movement generations arguing it’s crass existence should be replaced with a friendlier and more inclusive name, now known as the ‘Passion Star Martini’.
The truth is we can see both sides, being old skool ourselves, it seems wrong to change something that is so globally loved and taken away from its original creator, but like most things there is always room for improvement, and with society being more complex to what it once was, we can see the need for the change of name.
Without this shift we would not be able to adorn the shelves of supermarkets by keeping its original name, which would of course be a big problem, and with ‘P**n Hub’ under fire what better time to rid this guilty pleasure of its so called dirty association.
If there’s something the Porn Star Martini has had over other martinis, it was the uproar it caused at the time it was born, with the association of adult movies, and attaching such a provocative name to it’s recipe, it was bound to provoke many reactions at the peak of the London cocktail revolution. Alas, you cannot argue that the tropical tangy goodness will be here for the forseeable future, no matter what you call it.
The original recipe by Ankrah consisted of vodka, fresh vanilla, granulated sugar, fresh passion fruit and passoa (a passion fruit liqueur). However, over the years it has had many variations, we ourselves are guilty of adapting this well loved drink, but still keeping to the notes Ankrah originally set out in his delicious concoction.
DOUGHLAS ANKRAH'S ORIGINAL PORN STAR MARTINI RECIPE
If you fancy making yourself an original Porn Star Martini, Douglas Ankrah style, try your hand at the recipe below.
If you find yourself strapped for time, you can buy a premade Passion Star Martini bottle from Swygge, which has all the loveliness of the tart, sweet, tangy and frothy top you can dream of.
INGREDIENTS
5cl - Vanilla vodka
2cl - Passion fruit liqueur
5cl - Passion fruit puree
2 bar spoons of vanilla sugar (granulated sugar and vanilla pods/ powder)
6cl - Champagne
METHOD
To make the vanilla vodka, take a bottle of vodka and put a vanilla bean inside, cutting in half lengthwise. Cap and shake the bottle, then rest for a week, and filter.
To make the vanilla sugar, mix equal parts sugar and vanilla powder.
Now for the cocktail: cut the passion fruit in half, keep one half aside, remove the pulp, and pass it through a fine sieve, squeezing with a spoon.
Put some ice into a shaker, add the passion fruit puree, vanilla vodka, passion fruit liqueur, 2 teaspoons of vanilla sugar.
Shake vigorously for 20-30 seconds and strain into a chilled martini glass.
Garnish with the other half of your passion fruit.
Serve the cocktail accompanied by a 60 ml shot of Champagne and enjoy.
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