The only recipe in our Pornstar Martini blind tasting to incorporate fresh passion fruit (in addition to passion fruit purée), Brian Evans’ modern take on the classic ’tini unanimously won over the judges. As Natasha Bermudez, a taster on the panel, observed, “We keep going back for more, which tells you everything you need to know.”
Brian Evans’ Pornstar Martini
Brian Evans | New York City
Ingredients
Serving: 1
- 1 half of a passion fruit (reserve the other half for garnish)
- 1 3/4 ounces vodka, preferably Suntory Haku
- 3/4 ounce lime juice
- 1/2 ounce Cointreau
- 1/2 ounce unsweetened passion fruit purée, preferably Boiron
- 1/2 ounce vanilla bean simple syrup (see Editor’s Note)
- 3 ounces G.H. Mumm Brut Cordon Rouge Champagne
Garnish: half of a passion fruit
Directions
- Scoop out the pulp from half of a fresh passion fruit and add it to a shaker tin.
- Add all of the remaining ingredients, except Champagne, into the shaker, and hard-shake with cubed ice until properly chilled and diluted.
- Double-strain into a chilled coupe.
- Float the remaining half of the passion fruit on the surface of the cocktail.
- Pour the Champagne into a separate small flute, and serve alongside the cocktail as a palate cleanser.
Editor's Note
Vanilla Bean Simple Syrup
450 milliliters (450 grams) hot water
450 grams granulated white sugar
1 vanilla bean
Using a paring knife, carefully split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the vanilla seeds into a nonreactive, quart-size container. Pour the water into the container with the vanilla. Let steep for at least 10 minutes before adding the sugar, then stir until the sugar has dissolved. Allow the spent vanilla bean to steep until the syrup cools to room temperature, then pour the entire mixture through a fine-mesh strainer or coffee filter to strain. Seal the container with an airtight lid, and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. This recipe can easily be halved by using half of each ingredient; reserve the other half of the vanilla bean for another use.