Black Russian
50 ml Vodka, 20 ml Coffee liqueur
Porn Star Martini
Passion fruit, vanilla - and a glass of fizz on the side.
Contemporary
Medium
6 min
Photo: Porn star martini cocktail by Ben Sutherland · CC BY 2.0 · All credits
Ingredients
Measures below are multiplied for 6 drinks. Unmeasurable amounts such as “a splash” are left as written.
- 300 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 300 ml line. Vodka - Vanilla vodka is traditional; plain vodka and a little more syrup works just as well
- 150 ml Jigger Three large sides (3 x 50 ml) of a standard jigger. Passion fruit purée
- 90 ml Jigger One large side (50 ml) and one small side (25 ml) of a standard jigger, plus a tablespoon. Vanilla syrup
- 60 ml Jigger One large side (50 ml) of a standard jigger, plus two teaspoons. Lime juice
- 300 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 300 ml line. Sparkling wine - Served in a shot glass beside the drink, not poured into it
- 6 halfs Passion fruit - The garnish, and worth finding (optional)
Measured in Millilitres (UK). Sign in to read these in American measures. Print a kitchen card at this size.
What the jigger, the spoons and the jug hold, in millilitres and in fluid ounces, is on the measures reference.
Quick version
- Shake the vodka, passion fruit, syrup and lime, strain into a coupe, and serve the fizz alongside.
Method
Pitcher (6 drinks)Pitcher (6 drinks) - about 900 ml of measured ingredients, before ice and dilution.
Timings and per-glass steps below are written for one drink and are not scaled. A full jug takes longer to chill, so stir or shake until it is properly cold rather than by the clock, and pour over fresh ice one glass at a time.
- Chill a coupe and a shot glass.
- Shake the vodka, passion fruit purée, vanilla syrup and lime juice with ice for 12 seconds.
- Double strain into the coupe - the seeds are wanted in the glass, but not the pulp.
- Pour the sparkling wine into the shot glass and float half a passion fruit on the drink.
Serve it
Volumes in this story are multiplied for the size above, along with the ingredients. Years, ratios and the capacities of glasses and jugs are left as written.
Porn Star Martini
Douglas Ankrah made this at the Townhouse bar in London in 2002 and gave it the name because he said it looked like something a porn star would drink, which it does. It has since become one of the most-ordered cocktails in Britain, and the shot of prosecco on the side - which the recipe has always insisted on - is a genuinely clever bit of theatre: you sip the fizz, then the drink, and the two make each other sharper.
Getting it right
Serving the fizz separately is not a gimmick, so do not tip it in. The drink itself is sweet enough that the dry wine beside it tastes like a palate-cleanser, and alternating between them is the whole experience. Watch the vanilla: a little is warm and lovely, and a lot is a milkshake. Fresh passion fruit on top is worth hunting down, and a half with the seeds intact is what makes the drink look the way it does in the pictures.
Tasting notes
Tropical and creamy, with sharp lime cutting through the vanilla and a dry sparkling finish alongside. It is a party in a glass, and it knows it.
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