How The Pornstar Martini Got Its Risqué Name

Among the many captivating cocktails with bizarre names such as the Fuzzy Navel and the Dirty Monkey, one drink's moniker is guaranteed to turn heads and spark curiosity — the Pornstar Martini. Technically not a martini at all and containing no vermouth, its irresistible combination of vanilla vodka, passion fruit liqueur, fresh passion fruit puree, vanilla syrup, and lime juice (typically accompanied by a sidecar of sparkling wine for added glamor) has made this drink a global icon since its creation in 1999. 

The story of the Pornstar Martini begins with renowned mixologist and founder of London's LAB bar Douglas Ankrah, who died in 2021. The cocktail's inception traces back to a visit Ankrah made to Mavericks Revue Bar, a gentlemen's club in Cape Town, South Africa. However, the cocktail originally went by a different name. Inspired by the club's bold ambience, Ankrah initially called his creation the "Maverick Martini." Yet, something about the drink's personality demanded more. Ankrah envisioned the cocktail as fun, sexy, confident, and playful — the same qualities he associated with pornstars. Seeking a name that would encapsulate this nature, he rechristened it the "Pornstar Martini."

Douglas Ankrah was preparing to launch his cocktail book Shaken & Stirred and the Townhouse bar in Knightsbridge, London, when the Pornstar Martini's recipe randomly came to him within 15 minutes on a warm, sunny day. "It was a spur of the moment thing," Ankrah told PUNCH. Inspired by a cocktail he tried in Brazil, Ankrah chose to incorporate passion fruit's sweet yet tangy profile into the drink. Ankrah officially released his original cocktail at Townhouse in 2002 and at LAB shortly after in 2003, where it quickly became popular. 

Despite the Pornstar Martini's risqué title, which has sparked controversy as an alleged attempt to normalize pornography, Ankrah emphasized that the name was not meant to be deliberately provocative but rather to reflect a sense of allure. "I called it Pornstar because I thought it was something that a pornstar would drink," Ankrah told The Buyer. "There's nothing sexual there."