Creator of world's most popular cocktail had no idea it would be such a success

07 October 2023 , 13:33

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Douglas Ankrah invented the Pornstar Martini

If you enjoy cocktails, you will have no doubt heard of Pornstar Martini - a refreshing and sweet drink featuring vodka, passion fruit and prosecco among its main ingredients.

But you may not know that this iconic cocktail was invented by talented mixologist Douglas Ankrah, founder of the famous LAB Bar in London, while he was creating the menu for The Townhouse Bar in Knightsbridge in 2003. The Ghanaian-born entrepreneur, who passed away at the age of 51 in 2021, said he had no idea when he made the drink that it would become so popular.

He said he came up with a recipe for the Pornstar Martini after visiting a gentlemen's club in Cape Town, South Africa. Mr Ankrah said that, while thinking about the menu for his cocktail bar, he wanted to create a drink that was "bold, sexy and playful" and initially named it Maverick Martini - as the club in Cape Town was called Mavericks.

The Pornstar Martini is now the most popular cocktail in the UK (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The mixologist then decided to rename his "evocative and tantalising" cocktail Pornstar Martini as he thought it was something a pornstar would drink, he said during an interview with The Buyer in 2017. But he added: "There's nothing sexual there."

The key ingredients of Pornstar Martini are vanilla vodka, passionfruit liqueur, lime juice, sugar syrup, prosecco and fresh passionfruit. Describing the characteristics of his cocktail, Mr Ankrah said it is "pure indulgence, sexy, fun and evocative".

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The Pornstar Martini was crowned the UK's favourite cocktail last year, according to data from Revolution Bars. In 2018, it became the most-ordered cocktail in restaurants, pubs, and bars in the UK. Together with Margarita, it is now widely considered one of the most popular cocktails in the world.

The mixologist was well-known in London but became even more famous after inventing the Pornstar Martini

The mixologist was a bartender in London but made his mark in 1999 when he co-founded the London Academy of Bartenders (LAB). The establishment became a training ground for some of the industry's leading bartenders. The bar closed in 2016 and became the site of the award-winning bar Swift.

But Mr Ankrah was not simply a bar owner - he also wrote a cocktail book, Shaken & Stirred, in 2004 which went on to sell over 100,000 copies. During his career, he also consulted on numerous brands including Bulldog Gin and Cockspur Rum.

Mr Ankrah passed away at the age of 51 in 2021

After the mixologist's death, his sister Lily Naadu Mensah said her family had been left heartbroken. In a tribute to her brother, she added: "The legendary Douglas Ankrah of Pornstar Martini fame is no more. A mighty oak has indeed fallen. Our family is heartbroken."

Ben Reed, from Cocktail Credentials, said Mr Ankrah "defined a decade". He told Master of Malt: "I still remember his drinks at the LAB when it first opened: most had more than five ingredients, tasted like delicious candy and were to define a decade.

"Whilst he'll most likely be commemorated for, and with, the Pornstar Martini, it will be Doug's warmth, charm, quick laugh and easy smile that will be remembered and missed by myself and his countless other friends around the world."

John Gakuru, former bar manager of LAB said: "I had and will always have the utmost respect for him, his work ethic and the leg up in the industry he gave me. Lab Bar changed my life exponentially for the better, and I am forever grateful. Doug lived life his way, much like Lab cocktail specs… with two bar spoons of vanilla sugar! He just made everything sweeter. Rest in Power Doug. Your legacy lives on through those of us whose lives you impacted so profoundly."

Chiara Fiorillo