Average
Tropical & Sweet
4 Minutes
Cocktail Glass
Ingredients
The Passion Fruit Martini is a vodka cocktail containing no less than three different passion fruit ingredients – passion fruit purée, passion fruit liqueur, topped off with fresh passion fruit for the garnish. If you’ve got a passion for passion fruit, this is your drink.
Elegant enough for a sophisticated dinner party, exotic enough for a summer gathering – the Passion Fruit Martini works wherever you decide to serve it. There’s something about an exotic fruit in a martini glass that always feels like an occasion.
Shaken and served in a chilled martini glass, the Passion Fruit Martini is always the main attraction at any table.
How To Make A PASSION FRUIT MARTINI COCKTAIL
Bar tools you’ll need
Jigger
Knife
Boston Shaker
Citrus Elbow
Hawthorne Strainer
How to Mix
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Cut a Lemon in half using a Paring Knife.
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Extract the juice of one Lemon half using a Citrus Elbow into a Jigger, then measure and pour the Lemon Juice into the smaller tin of your Boston Shaker.
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Measure and pour Simple Syrup into the Shaker.
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Measure and pour Passion Fruit Purée, followed by Passion Fruit Liqueur into the Shaker.
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Measure and pour Absolut Vodka into the Shaker.
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Connect both the larger and smaller tin of your Boston Shaker together and shake vigorously.
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Place a Hawthorne Strainer over the larger tin of your Shaker and pour the cocktail directly into a Martini Glass.
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Cut a Passion Fruit in half using a Paring Knife and place one half directly into your cocktail to garnish.
ALL ABOUT THE PASSION FRUIT MARTINI
Not to be confused with the Pornstar Martini (also known as the Passion Star Martini), the Passion Fruit Martini is a shaken vodka martini made with Absolut Vodka, passion fruit purée, passion fruit liqueur, lemon juice and simple syrup, served in a chilled martini glass and garnished with fresh passion fruit.
A Passion Fruit Martini combines the tartness and acidity of passion fruit and lemon juice, sweetened and balanced by simple syrup and passion fruit liqueur. All in all, it’s tropical and exactly what a passion fruit cocktail should be.
Tracing the history of the Passion Fruit Martini is tricky – several very different drinks share the name.
Many people use it interchangeably with the Pornstar Martini (also known as the Passion Star Martini), which dates back to the early 2000s.
There’s also a version known as the Passionfruit Caprioska – a twist on the classic Brazilian Caipiroska, made with lime juice, sugar and cachaça, a spirit distilled from sugarcane juice, said to date back to the 1940s.
Another variation goes by the same name but is made with gin, lime juice and prosecco.
The drink recipe you’ll find on this page is its own thing entirely and likely came about in the late 2000s.
The Passion Fruit Martini is only as good as what goes into it. Here’s what to keep in mind.
- Chill your glass
Place your martini glass in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before serving – a cold glass keeps the drink colder for longer and makes a noticeable difference to the overall experience. - Make your own passion fruit purée
Add the pulp of a few passion fruits to a blender with one teaspoon of water per fruit and sugar to taste. Blend, then strain through a fine mesh sieve. Simple and worth the effort. - Use ripe passion fruit
Buy your passion fruits a couple of days ahead and let them ripen naturally — they’ll be sweeter and more aromatic by the time you need them. If you’re buying on the day, look for fruits that are plump and deeply coloured. Wrinkled skin is a good sign – it means the fruit is at peak ripeness.
- Make it with gin
Some people prefer Martinis made with gin, others prefer vodka. Follow the recipe on this page and simply swap the vodka for gin – the botanical notes of gin add an interesting dimension to the passion fruit that’s worth trying. - Add prosecco
For something a little more festive, top the finished Martini with a splash of prosecco before serving. It adds a gentle effervescence that lifts the passion fruit flavors without overpowering them, and brings it closer in character to the Pornstar Martini, which is traditionally served with a shot of prosecco on the side. - Try it with Absolut Passionfruit
For an even more intense passion fruit character, swap Absolut Vodka for Absolut Passionfruit, passion fruit-flavored vodka, to add an extra layer of tropical depth to an already fruit-forward drink.
With three passion fruit ingredients already in the glass, the garnish is the finishing statement.
- Glassware
Serve the Passion Fruit Martini in a chilled martini glass – it’s the natural home for this drink. - Passion fruit half
Float a fresh passion fruit half on top to garnish. It reinforces the passion fruit flavors, looks stunning in the glass and tells your guests exactly what they’re about to taste. - Lemon twist
A simple lemon twist on the rim adds a subtle citrus aroma that complements the lemon juice in the drink, and gives the garnish a classic martini finish.
PASSION FRUIT MARTINI FAQ
Not quite. While both cocktails feature the taste of passion fruit and include r passion fruit purée and vodka, the similarities end there.
The Pornstar Martini incorporates muddled pineapple and Absolut Vanilia (vanilla-flavored vodka), whereas the Passion Fruit Martini does not. Instead, the latter uses passion fruit liqueur, original Absolut Vodka, and fresh lemon juice.
Passion Fruit is naturally high in pulp and fiber, which makes it difficult to extract the juice. When the juice still contains a noticeable amount of pulp or has a thicker texture, it’s typically referred to as a purée or nectar rather than juice.
Passion Fruit Juice is the liquid extracted from the fruit, often filtered and diluted with water. Passion Fruit Purée is thicker, containing the fruit’s pulp, seeds, and sometimes additional sugar for sweetness.
You can often find packaged passion fruit juice or passion fruit purée at your local grocery store or online. These products are typically found in the juice aisle or the frozen food section. Look for options that contain no added sugars or artificial flavors to maintain a natural taste. As a last resort, you can try substituting Pineapple Juice.
