The Espresso Martini staged a comeback, and it brought the whole family with it. The Appletini, the Lychee Martini, the Pornstar Martini — drinks once dismissed as sugary relics of the ’90s and early 2000s — are back on menus at serious bars, retooled with modern technique and better ingredients.
The revival started with the Espresso Martini, which returned to prominence a few years ago and never left. That success opened the door for its siblings. Bartenders are now reworking the old formulas, swapping canned juice for fresh, adding clarified spirits and fat-washed rums, and putting the drinks on the same lists as proper Martinis and other classics. The kitschy crowd-pleasers have grown up.
From Dale DeGroff’s French Martini to Peter Canny’s Bikini Martini, each of these drinks has its own origin story, its own fall from grace and its own second act.
DeGroff’s French Martini Spark
Dale DeGroff, the godfather of the modern cocktail revival, created the French Martini in 1996 at Keith McNally’s Pravda in New York City. DeGroff said the drink was “one of the sparks that got the cocktail-as-Martini craze started.”
The combination is simple: vodka, pineapple juice and Chambord raspberry liqueur. Nothing more, nothing less. The drink took off the following year, when it hit the menu at McNally’s buzzy Balthazar. It may be less viral than its siblings — it has never generated the search traffic of the Pornstar Martini or the ubiquity of the Espresso Martini — but it is making a comeback of its own.
Bradsell’s Vodka Espresso
Dick Bradsell, the legendary British bartender, created the Espresso Martini in 1980s London under the name Vodka Espresso. It quickly picked up the name by which it is still known — Espresso Martini — despite Bradsell’s own objections.
He was a Martini purist and did not like the moniker. Vodka Espresso was the name he gave it, and Vodka Espresso was the name he preferred. The world disagreed.
The drink has become ubiquitous. Riffs around the world now include genius interpretations like a coconut water cold brew version, and questionable ones involving Parmesan cheese. The modern classic has never waned in popularity — indeed, it was the Espresso Martini’s return to prominence a few years ago that opened the door for the rest of the family.
Ankrah’s Pornstar Martini
The Pornstar Martini was created at London’s Townhouse in 2003 by the late Douglas Ankrah. Ankrah’s creation is vibrant and tropical, and it comes with a sidecar of chilled Champagne.
The provocatively named cocktail commands attention. A 2021 report analyzing more than 100 million Google searches found that the Pornstar Martini was the most searched-for cocktail in the world, with nearly twice as much interest as the Piña Colada. That is a remarkable showing for a drink barely two decades old.
These days it is reimagined every which way: frozen, sparkling, accompanied by a caviar bump and even blue. The sidecar of chilled Champagne, though, remains.
Crowley on the Lychee Martini
In the ’90s, the Lychee Martini was a staple on catchall “Asian fusion” menus and clubstaurants across the United States. Then came its downfall.
“The Lychee Martini became shorthand for a dark-ages drink,” writes Chris Crowley, “fruity and sweet (with all the sexism to match); principally made with (gasp) vodka; and spiked with, in many cases, juice from a can.”
In recent years, Asian restaurants of all kinds have taken the drink and made it their own. What was once shorthand for a dark-ages drink has become a canvas. Modern versions incorporate ingredients like jasmine, Vietnamese gin and even fish sauce. Kristina Magro updates the template with Giffard Lichi-Li and sherry in her Suit and Tie. Other riffs include a playful cocktail inspired by almond jello, a popular Korean dessert, and a zero-proof take.
From Lola’s to Chartreuse
The Appletini was invented at the now-closed Lola’s in West Hollywood in the ’90s. The New York Times called the bar “the Tigris and Euphrates of apple Martini culture.”
It was born into a world “unafraid of high-fructose corn syrup and candy-colored drinks,” writes Laurel Miller. That world has changed. Where the original leaned on candy-colored sweetness, Appletinis now call for clarification or Chartreuse, or come with a real Martini-like sidecar of garnishes.
But it is still the Appletini’s world, and we are just living in it. Modern takes include Adam’s Appletini, a reimagining of the bright green drink; Emerald City, an elevated build on cider eau de vie; and MacIntosh Plus, the Appletini reimagined once more.
Canny’s Bikini Martini
The onetime ubiquity of artificially flavored coconut rums like Malibu and Parrot Bay gave rise to a bevy of fruity drinks like the Bikini Martini. The pink, vodka-based cocktail was not taken seriously for years.
Peter Canny saw something special in it. He revisited the drink for the debut menu at Madeline’s Martini in New York City, giving it a refresh by way of fat-washed coconut rum, housemade grenadine and fresh pineapple juice — fat-washed rum where there once was artificially flavored coconut rum, fresh juice where there once was canned.
Canny first came across the drink as a club bartender, back when those coconut rums were everywhere. Now he sees its merits alongside proper Martinis and other classics — and so do guests. “We put [the Bikini Martini] on the menu kind of as an ode to our history of bartending, and it took off.”
The ’tinis have shed their Dark-Age-drinks-status. DeGroff’s French Martini, Bradsell’s Vodka Espresso, Ankrah’s Pornstar Martini, the Lychee Martini, the Appletini and Canny’s Bikini Martini — the kitschy crowd-pleasers of the ’90s and early 2000s — now sit alongside proper Martinis and other classics on serious menus, retooled with fresh juice, clarified spirits, fat-washed rums and better ingredients all around. Once dismissed as sugary relics, they have been reworked, reimagined and put back on the menu. They are all grown up.
Key Facts
- French Martini: created by Dale DeGroff in 1996 at Pravda in New York City
- Espresso Martini: created by Dick Bradsell in 1980s London, originally called Vodka Espresso
- Pornstar Martini: created by Douglas Ankrah in 2003 at London’s Townhouse
- 2021 report: Pornstar Martini was the most searched-for cocktail in the world, based on more than 100 million Google searches
- Appletini: invented at Lola’s in West Hollywood in the ’90s
- Bikini Martini: retooled by Peter Canny at Madeline’s Martini in New York City
Source: punchdrink.com
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