The New-School ‘Tinis, From Pornstar Martini to Espresso Martini

Ever since the Espresso Martini staged a dramatic return to the limelight a few years ago, the drink has remained a fixture of modern menus. It was the Trojan horse that paved the way for other caffeinated cocktails to make a splash, and it also emboldened the revival (and modernization) of its ’tini siblings. While these kitschy, crowd-pleasing drinks spent several years relegated to Dark-Age-drinks-status, now, thanks to nostalgia and a few modern tweaks, you can have an Appletini at a buzzy new bar and hardly anyone would bat an eye. Here is a look at the ’tinis you know and love, all all grown up.

According to Dale DeGroff, godfather of the modern cocktail revival, the French Martini was “one of the sparks that got the cocktail-as-Martini craze started.” A fruit-forward combination of vodka, pineapple juice and Chambord, the French Martini dates back to 1996 when DeGroff himself debuted the drink at restaurateur Keith McNally’s Pravda, in New York City. It wasn’t until the following year, however, when it hit the menu at McNally’s buzzy Balthazar, that the drink really took off. Though it may be less viral than its siblings, the French Martini, too, is making a comeback.

The current ’tini revival largely has the Espresso Martini to thank. Originally known as the Vodka Espresso when it was created by legendary British bartender Dick Bradsell in 1980s London, the drink quickly assumed the moniker by which it’s still known, despite objections from Bradsell himself, a Martini purist. With its meteoric rise—to some bartenders’ chagrin—the modern classic has become ubiquitous, and you can now find both genius interpretations (coconut water cold brew!) and questionable ingredients (Parmesan cheese) in riffs around the world.

Like all of its ’tini brethren, this provocatively named cocktail, created at London’s Townhouse in 2003 by the late Douglas Ankrah, commands attention. It’s vibrant and tropical, and it’s hard to miss with its sidecar of chilled Champagne. A 2021 report analyzing more than 100 million Google searches revealed that the Pornstar Martini was the most searched-for cocktail in the world, with nearly twice as much interest as the Piña Colada. These days, you can find it reimagined every which way: frozen, sparkling, accompanied by a caviar bump and even blue.

In the ’90s, the Lychee Martini was a drink that U.S. diners came to expect on catchall “Asian fusion” menus and clubstaurants. 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, however, Asian restaurants of all kinds have taken the drink and made it their own, incorporating ingredients like jasmine, Vietnamese gin and even fish sauce.

The Appletini was invented at the now-closed Lola’s in West Hollywood (“the Tigris and Euphrates of apple Martini culture,” according to the New York Times) in the ’90s. It was born into a world “unafraid of high-fructose corn syrup and candy-colored drinks,” writes Laurel Miller. We may be in a different world now—one where Appletinis call for clarification or Chartreuse or come with a real Martini-like sidecar of garnishes—but it is certainly still the Appletini’s world, and we’re just living in it.

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. But Peter Canny recognized something special in the pink, vodka-based cocktail. He revisited it 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. He first came across the drink as a club bartender, and now sees the merits of it alongside proper Martinis and other classics—as do guests. “We put [the Bikini Martini] on the menu kind of as an ode to our history of bartending, and it took off.”