The Porn Star Martini, from Douglas Ankrah of the famed London Academy of Bartending, is truly the epitome of early 2000s cocktail culture. It’s over-the-top, totally ostentatious, and of course it follows the obnoxious “something-something-Martini” naming convention of the era. But it deserves to be forgiven for the sins of its era, because underneath all that glitz and hype is a genuinely solid drink.
By itself, the “Martini” part of the drink verges on saccharine sweetness; early versions of the recipe had even more sweetness, calling for vanilla vodka and an extra dose of vanilla syrup. This modern variation is still nearly too sweet – but that’s where the sidecar comes in. Alternating between sips of the main drink and the fizzy sparkling wine on the side brings the whole thing into a wonderful balance, and feels utterly decadent.
Traditionally, the drink is garnished with a halved fresh passion fruit floating in the glass. It’s probably sacrilegious to even suggest serving it without, but we never bother with it. Honestly, we’ve never seen anyone actually eat the fruit out of the drink; more often, folks get tired of getting bumped in the nose with every sip, and fish it out of the glass.
