The Pornstar Martini and the Virgin Pornstar Mocktail

You will not find the pornstar martini in a Mr. Boston’s Official Bartender’s Guide from the 1980s, because it wasn’t created until 2002. But it became an instant classic and was more widely known in the United States around the time of its creation. But wait, why is it called a pornstar martini? Well, it was named by its creator, London mixologist Douglas Ankrah, because he felt the drink was bold, sexy, and playful. Like… a porn star. It since fallen out of popularity here, but in Europe — especially Amsterdam — it was on a lot of drink menus!

Is it bold, sexy, and playful? It’s a vivid orange-hued drink where the tartness is tempered by vanilla notes. It tastes tropical in all the best ways, but it isn’t as cloying as a frozen fruity drink can be.

The pornstar martini features vanilla vodka and passionfruit puree, which aren’t exactly easy to find items. But thanks to Trader Joe’s Cubes of Seedless Passionfruit Puree, a new item in summer 2026, the pornstar martini and memories of Amsterdam came back to my mind.

Sourcing Ingredients for a Pornstar Martini

It’s true, while ingredients for the pornstar martini are a little more attainable now than they were in the early 2000s, it can still be a little bit of a treasure hunt to find them. Here’s where I found or substituted some ingredients:

Passionfruit

Trader Joe’s, as noted, or most Latino supermarkets will have frozen passionfruit puree.

I measured several cubes for volume and each one seems to be about .60-.75 ounces.

To get it useable for this cocktail, let it thaw out until it can be mashed with a spoon. You can zap it for about 10 seconds in the microwave in a microwave-safe dish. Just don’t warm it up.

I could not find fresh passionfruit for a garnish anywhere, even Whole Foods, so I used a starfruit as garnish!

Passionfruit Liqueur

My local well-appointed liquor store had to go in the back to grab me the Chinola, but they had it! Your corner liquor mart may not have it, but it’s worth asking. Other passionfruit liqueur brands are Passoa or Mr. Stacks.

Vanilla Vodka

Again, the well-appointed liquor store will have it, OR make your own by adding a very small amount of vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste to your vodka. Seriously, a little dab’ll do ya. Let it sit for about 30 minutes to infuse before using.

Vanilla Vodka

You can easily make your own vanilla syrup by bringing one part water to one part sugar to a low boil until the sugar is dissolved. Add in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract and leave to infuse for 30 minutes or more. Store leftover syrup in a tightly sealed container in the fridge and use in your coffee later if you want.

Cocktails Versus Mocktails

With the mocktail and non-alcoholic drink movement gaining momentum, I find it worthwhile to offer both options, especially when it’s so easy to substitute ingredients to get a very similar if not almost identical result!

Since both of these actually do look identical, if you are making both versions, make it obvious which is which. I used a tiny cocktail clothespin to denote one as the mocktail.

The Sidecar or the Floater

The point of a floater (sometimes called a sidecar) is something you add to a drink that you want in the final version but don’t want shaken. In this case, you don’t want to shake the effervescence of the sparkling apple juice or Prosecco in the shaker!

A floater can also bring aromas closer to your nose, create a two-toned look, or change how the drink is perceived as more of sipped from the glass. In this case we are just preserving the bubbly element that we definitely want to keep in this drink.

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