1/ Hey Elliot, tell us about yourself and your role at Alchemist.

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• Drinks development and menu writing

• Staff training and development

• New site openings and bar designing.

2/ Porn Star Martinis are among the top sellers in many bars around the country – what is it do you think that makes this Douglas Ankara classic such a crowd pleaser and how are they made at Alchemist?

I think the Original Pornstar Martini - made using Passoã - created by Douglas Ankrah has managed to carve its way to no.1 in the UK due to a few simple but effective points. 

1. It is typically a little strong, so a guest is likely to feel the value of their drink shortly after they buy it. 

2. It is sweet and tropical, due to the key ingredient of Passoã passion fruit liqueur - a winning combination when it comes to a great cocktail. 

3. And finally it has a small but clear sense of intractability, the side shot gives the guest something to play with- which I personally believe, is the way cocktails are going in the UK.

We make ours quite differently to others. As many do, we use Passoã, the key ingredient within the original pornstar martini, but we opt to blend ours vigorously to achieve a thick foam on top. We include a small amount of white vermouth to our recipe too, so that the drink has the subtle wine taste before the sparkling has been added. Finally, we provide a heap of delicious passion fruit flavoured caviar pearls for our guests to play with and snack on. 

3/ Passoã was named in the original 2002 Townhouse spec and remains the go-to passion fruit liqueur – what qualities does the product bring to cocktails?

Passoã brings the great depth of colour to our Pornstar Martini,  providing a tropical and sweet back bone to the cocktail.

4/ Passoã is a very versatile liqueur, and we see that looking at your menu, where you have three Passoã cocktails – tell us about them, and what advice you have for bartenders looking to explore the product in other styles of drinks, for example frozen cocktails or other summer serves.

Passoã is a great addition to our menu, used in a variety of cocktails including: Martini in a bottle, the Pornstar Martini of course and our Pop-Sicle.

In addition, our MIAB (Martini in a bottle) is a carbonated twist on a Pornstar Martini that offers a bit of lighter approach to the classic. 

Our Pop-Sicle is a Passoã mango margarita essentially, with a splash of orange juice and a cherry flavoured bubble to burst in front of your face.

Passoa is a fantastically versatile liquid with an approachable ABV and a vibrant colour that offers great variety when it comes to making drinks. We often use it as a modifier to work alongside the base spirit - I find Passoã works alongside almost all spirits extremely well - whether that be an aged rum or an unaged tequila.

5/ Passoã supports the UK on-trade, including working with Alchemist – tell us about the activations you’ve run together and what you have planned for Porn Star Martini Week in September.

We’re currently in the planning stages for our next activation with Passoã, but we’ve previously thrown incredibly successful Passoã Parties. Our staff wear branded Passoã t-shirts, and of course we shout about this on our social platforms to encourage customers to come and celebrate with us!