Passion killer as Marks & Spencer calls time on Porn Star Martini

The Porn Star Martini was invented in 2003
The Porn Star Martini was invented in 2003 Copyright Donna Bilson
By Orlando Crowcroft
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What do you prefer: Porn Star Martini or Passion Star Martini?

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British retail giant Marks and Spencer has changed the name of its Porn Star Martini drink after a single complaint to the UK’s alcohol standards authority.

The pre-mixed cocktail, which costs £2.25 (€2.48), will now be called the Passion Star Martini after a customer complained of the original’s sexual connotations.

They argued that if M&S was allowed to sell the Porn Star Martini, others may follow suit with Sex on the Beach, Slippery Nipples and Sloe Comfortable Screws.

M&S responded the Porn Star Martini — invented in 2003 by London mixologist Douglas Ankrah — was an accepted name for "a passion fruit juice-based vodka cocktail".

But it accepted the ruling by industry regulator the Portman Group and would change the name to Passion Star Martini.

It isn't the first time M&S has come under fire over the drink since it launched it in September 2018.

A feminist group, Object UK, calling for a boycott of the store last year and on Wednesday tweeted that it was “chuffed” with the ruling.

The Porn Star Martini is a blend of passion fruit liqueur and vanilla-flavoured vodka, shaken over ice. It is served in a martini glass with passion fruit garnish and a Champagne side-car.

'Things have changed'

Speaking to Euronews on Thursday, Ankrah was less annoyed with the name change than he was that M&S had marketed the drink in the first place - especially with an 8% alcohol content.

"It's crazy," he said. "They should have asked. They just went ahead and did it, but everything is created by someone."

As for its name, he said that nobody had a problem with the Porn Star Martini when he first created it. Initially, he said, he had called the drink a Maverick Martini but it was the Porn Star Martini that took off.

"It was never an issue 15 years ago. Things have changed," he said. "Young people want to go out to bars and have a drink and a party - it is a party-starting drink."

The British public seemed to agree. The Porn Star was recently voted the UK’s second-most popular cocktail after the Mojito.

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