The Spirits #131: The Porn Star Alexander
It had to happen sooner or later
I am only able to offer up most of the Spirits for free thanks to the generous support of my paid subscribers. This is a great time to join their number. Do so before midnight tonight and you’ll receive 30% off in perpetuity… and the chance to win a bottle of EXTREMELY PREMIUM BOOZE. Details below the recipe… or if you can’t wait:
~ THE PORN STAR ALEXANDER ~
25ml white rum
25ml orange liqueur (Pierre Ferrand)
25ml fresh passion fruit syrup (see below)
25ml fresh cream
Dash vanilla essence
(Fresh passion fruit syrup = one part frsh passion fruit pulp + one part 2:1 sugar syrup)
Freeze a glass. Try to keep a lid on your excitement. Add all the liquids to the shaker with just the one small ice cube and ‘whip shake’ extremely hard for a good 10-15 seconds to aerate the cream. Now add larger lumps of ice and shake again for cooling purposes. Strain into the cold glass and garnish with a half passion fruit plus a grating of nutmeg.
Some Porn Star Alexander Notes
It’s me. Hi. I’m the problem, it’s me.
Although to be fair the thought was prompted by Spirits subscriber Andrew Spencer, who requested a recipe of the creamy/dessert variety - not because he is into that sort of thing, you understand: “Just need one in the repertoire for when it is inevitably requested.” I happened to be fooling around with passion fruits at the time for Hurricane week and, well, you can see how thing got out of hand.
The drink is obviously a Porn Star Martini (vodka, passion fruit, vanilla, vodka) doing something unspeakable to a classic Alexander (brandy, cacao, cream). My notebooks recall that I did initially attempt to retain the cacao element, not without success, but actually the “EUREKA” moment came when I switched it out for orange liqueur, specifically the Pierre Ferrand Orange Curaçao I’ve been using of late. (I got the idea of adding orange from this Tomasina Miers dessert). The curaçao is in neither the Porn Star nor the Alexander but acts as a sort of liquid intimacy coördinator here, casting a mellow amber light over proceedings, brightening the passion fruit and lending a tropical depth of its own. It comes out a little like a grown up Solero ice lolly.
A few more ingredient specifics. You can use vodka (or pisco?) if you like but light rum (I used El Dorado 3 Years) adds a welcome florality and a shimmer of white chocolate. Dairy-wise, I used Lacto-Free single cream as I’m lactose-intolerant; those of you who do not suffer from this awful affliction may prefer the richness of double cream. Coconut milk might be good for vegans. And I didn’t want to over-complicate the recipe but the fresh passion fruit syrup element could equally become 12.5ml passion fruit pulp and 12.5ml sugar syrup; alternatively, you could replace with a passion fruit liqueur or commercial syrup, if you prefer. Just taste for balance as you don’t want it too sweet.
The drink looked incomplete, somehow, even after I’d applied the passion fruit garnish. Then I remembered Alexanders are traditionally served with a grating of fresh nutmeg and this, friends, was the final touch this sexy baby needed. Please share the Porn Star Alexander far and wide, demand it at your local bar, stir it, shake it, make it, bake it! You will find that it is the most delicious thing.
🖊️I am Richard Godwin.
🧋My instructions for sugar syrup, ice, grenadine, orgeat, etc are here.
🧑🏫 My 10 RULES FOR MAKING COCKTAILS are here.
⚗️ My bottle recommendations are here.
📃 The full A-Z recipe archive is here. ➡️ Please find a round up of organisations helping Ukrainians here.
🏥 And here is a list of trusted charities who are helping people in Gaza.
SPRINGTIME SALE AND COMPETITION
My May sale ends tomorrow! I am offering the chance to lock in 30% off all subscriptions to the Spirits for ever. That’s correct. For only £35 per year (or £3.50 per month), you will have access to the full archive of Cabinet posts (these are deep dives into such exciting ingredients as Amaretto, Crème de Banane, Fernet-Branca and Bénédictine ) and you’ll also receive regular future VSOP dispatches - including the more in-depth series I’m planning on the all-time classics, ie the Martini, the Manhattan, the Negroni, the Daiquiri, etc.
I’ve also added the option of signing up for LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP of the Cabinet for a one-off payment of £100. Simply tick the FOUNDING MEMBER option. (It will say £100 per year but don’t worry, it really is for life). If you’re an existing subscriber, you can upgrade your membership in this way too.
Were that not enticement enough, I will conduct a PRIZE DRAW for everyone* who signs up before May 30th (or, signs their friend up). The winner will receive a bottle of Ancho Reyes Verde (RRP £42.50!), an astoundingly delicious premium green poblano chile liqueur from Mexico which is, not coincidentally, the subject of the next Cabinet post. So you’ll know EXACTLY what to do with it, too. All you have to do to enter is hit that green button and do the business. I’ll announce the winner next week before heading out to the post office to dispatch with a handwritten note congratulating you for being such a first-rate person.
(*For postal/customs reasons I’m afraid I can only do this for UK-based subscribers)
That sign-up again:
CABINET POSTS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:
🐿️ Amaretto
🧡 Aperol
🍑 Apricot Brandy
🕊️ Bénédictine
❄️ Brancamenta
🍌 Crème de Banane
🍫 Crème de Cacao
🫐 Crème de Cassis
🌷 Cynar
🌸Elderflower Liqueur
🏝️ Falernum
🦅 Fernet-Branca
🌿 Green Chartreuse
🐻 Kümmel
🍒 Maraschino
🌵 Mezcal
🦙 Pisco
🐂 Sherry
🌻 Suze
THE PLAYLIST
Still on gems.
NB: This playlist (ideally) updates with fresh songs each week, rather in the manner of Spotify’s ‘Discover Weekly’ list. But this is personally curated by me. Save/download and you should have a fresh supply of cool music in perpetuity. I store all the archive lists in one long megaplaylists, which you can find here.
SHOPPING LIST
Lychees, sugar, lemon, light rum (or vodka, and I’m going to do a gin variant too)
Thank you Richard, for recognising my reputation as the kind of steely eyed Sgt Rock type who’d never want one of these himself oh no. As a true craggy ultra-man I’m laying off the sauce until the weekend after a fun holiday, so I’ll make this at the weekend. Just for guests you understand, no funny stuff. Speaking of which, would Cointreau sub for the Pierre Ferrand curaçao or would it be too sweet?
Well, the Solero is the most perfect of the store-bought ice cream bars, so I'm going to be all over this one. And lactose intolerance solidarity! I miss being able to eat/drink creamy things with impunity. Lactaid does help some, if you find yourself in the States or have American visitors with room for a few boxes in their suitcases.