Passoã Porn Star Martini Competition

Passoã passionfruit liqueur is one of the original ingredients Douglas Ankrah used when he created the Porn Star Martini in 2002. His cocktail has become a contemporary classic, and this annual competition (first run in 2023) is to encourage the creation of new distinctive versions of the Porn Star Martini.

Your Porn Star Martini recipe

The aim is to find the best new cocktails inspired by the original Porn Star Martini, and as an incentive to drive your creativity, Passoã is offering prizes for professional bartenders and home cocktail enthusiasts (see below).

Cocktails which celebrate or are inspired by special occasions or notable days are always popular, and with this in mind, your riff on the classic Porn Star Martini may be inspired by an occasion such as Valentine's Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas.

The Porn Star Martini is made and enjoyed in bars and homes worldwide, so your cocktail should also be easy to replicate, made using easily available ingredients and without the need to pre-combine ingredients. I have produced an extensive list of commonplace ingredients and along with any of these, as with the original Porn Star Martini, your cocktail must include at least 20ml (3/4oz) Passoã passion fruit liqueur.

When considering other ingredients, to stay true to the essence of a Porn Star Martini, perhaps bear in mind elements in the original recipe:

• Base spirit - Originally vanilla-flavoured vodka, but perhaps replace this with a completely different spirit, e.g. bourbon.
  
• Passoã passion fruit liqueur - the one element that should remain unchanged. Please use at least 20ml (2/3oz).
• Fresh passion fruit - perhaps replace with another tropical fruit – fresh, syrup or purée.
• Vanilla - perhaps use another similar flavour, such as almond, maple syrup, or honey. And not necessarily in syrup form.
• Lime juice - perhaps replace with another citrus fruit.
• Champagne on the side - serving a shot of sparking wine or, indeed, a glass filled with a decadent treat on the side is optional. If inspired by Halloween, a glass filled with candy would be appropriate.

Cocktails may be in the form of long or short drinks (not shots) and be a minimum of 90ml (3oz) liquid volume.

Cocktails based on less than seven ingredients are preferred (including fruit juices, syrups, drops or dashes). Solid garnishes are not counted as ingredients; neither is an additional spray of citrus fruit zest over the drink if specified as a garnish.

Entries will only be considered where a photograph of the finished cocktail has been uploaded to accompany the recipe.

Your cocktail's name doesn't necessarily need to include the word "Martini" or "Porn", and please don't use any other rude, lurid or sexual word.

Prizes

As well as cash prizes for the two winning cocktails and runners-up, the winning bartender will be interviewed for an interview feature on Difford's Guide.

2 bartender winners

• Best bartender cocktail wins €1,000 euros + a interview feature on Difford's Guide
• 1 runner-up will win €500 euros

2 home cocktail enthusiast winners

• Best enthusiast's cocktail wins €1,000 euros
• 1 runner-up will win €500 euros

Enter

Please complete the short form on the Enter page. If you are already a Difford's Guide member and logged in, then we have your name and email. If you are new to Difford's Guide, then you'll be asked for this additional information to become a member and upload your cocktail recipe.

Participating countries

If you are living in any of these countries, then you are eligible to enter:
Australia, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Spain, UK, USA. (plus France, if you are entering as a professional bartender).

Key Dates

6 September 2024 - Competition opens
Midnight British Summer Time, 31 October 2024 – Competition entry period closes
18 November 2024 – Winners informed

Judging criteria

The most delicious yet easy-to-replicate recipes will receive the highest scores and, as a cocktail's name greatly influences its popularity, the name of each cocktail also greatly impacts the score. A photograph of your cocktail will also score points, with our favourites also being posted on social media! Points will be awarded as follows: Taste = 40%; Name = 20%; Ease to replicate = 25%; Photograph = 5%; Originality = 10%

Judges

The jury will be composed of:
- Eric Ribeiro: Lucas Bols North America Cocktail Academy manager
- Tess Posthumus: Amsterdam bar owner (Flying Dutchmen Cocktails, Dutch Courage, Belly of the Beast), hospitality consultant, published author and TV presenter
- Kaarina Jannin: Passoã Global Brand Director
- Ivar de Lange: Global Education Manager for Lucas Bols and Bols Cocktail Academy
This professional team will judge all the entries to select the winners. They will not be informed of the names of the creators of each cocktail until after the winning cocktails have been selected.