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On this episode of “Cocktail College,” host Tim McKirdy chats with Pornstar Martini expert and owner of Birmingham, Ala.’s , Laura Newman. Newman breaks down the ideal specs of the classic Pornstar Martini, iterations on its specs, and how she is doing the Pornstar Martini (and Ankrah) justice with her own version of the drink.
L: I’ve had it on the menu at my cocktail bar, , since we opened in 2018. But we really opened with our normal classic menu in January 2019. We’ve had it on the menu without stop since we opened, and it is hands down the best-selling drink of all time at this bar by a really large margin. The bar is actually named after another cocktail, the Queen’s Park Swizzle, and yet the Pornstar Martini is No. 1. I want to say the Queen’s Park Swizzle is No. 5 in terms of all-time greatest sales.
T: Hacking Pornstar Martinis. That is going to be our task for the next 30 to 45 minutes. Before we dive in, just a quick reminder for anyone who’s not familiar with it. This is vanilla , passion fruit in a couple of guises, sweetening agent, and then a side of , traditionally. That’s the general composition that we’re talking about.
L: I would imagine it’s the most common, although there are some other great brands on the market, but I’m certainly not opposed to using it. I want to say that Doug’s original recipe called for that. But has a great one; so does . is another good one. There are a lot of options for people that are looking for a passion fruit liqueur to toss into their Pornstar Martini. But I do want to say his original recipe was Passoa, if I’m not mistaken.
L: I will note that I haven’t been able to find any photos of Doug actually pouring and completing a passion fruit Martini. The thing to consider is, I’m not sure if he intended for there to be room to pour in some of the sidecar or not. I think his original intention might have been more for it to be a fun party shot, either before or after the drink. But in my perfect Pornstar, anticipating the needs and wants of our guests who may want to make the drink a little more acidic, I try to leave a little bit of room.
