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Papi, a bar in Portland, Maine, serves the Mami Chula, a rum-and-passion-fruit cocktail inspired by the Pornstar Martini and topped with Cava custard foam. Beverage and creative director Izzy Stein says the topping is designed to balance the drink’s tart fruit with creamy richness, while letting customers control how much foam they mix in.
Papi, a bar in Portland, Maine, serves the Mami Chula, a rum-and-passion-fruit cocktail inspired by the Pornstar Martini and topped with custard foam made with reduced Cava. Beverage and creative director Izzy Stein developed the drink around the foam, which she says is intended to balance creamy richness against the cocktail’s bright, tart fruit.
Stein told VinePair that the foam began as part of an effort to create a crème brûlée-inspired Pisco Sour. She later built a different drink around it, settling on a Pornstar Martini-style combination of vanilla, rum and passion fruit. The finished cocktail is served over ice in a mini milkshake glass, with a tall swirl of foam and two Papi-branded straws.
To make the topping, Stein reduces several bottles of Cava by about 40 percent, concentrating the sparkling wine and thickening it. She then combines the reduction with egg yolk, cream and vanilla, and puts the mixture into an iSi canister to aerate it. Stein says the Cava’s acidity and bitterness give the custard a sharper flavor than a standard dessert-like topping.
The cocktail’s base combines rum infused with house-made bourbon and vanilla bean paste with lime juice and three forms of passion fruit: liqueur, syrup and pulp. The components are shaken and poured over ice. The foam is the final addition, taking the place of the sparkling-wine sidecar commonly associated with a Pornstar Martini. The source does not specify the drink’s price or provide a full recipe with measurements.
How the Foam Shapes the Drink
The Mami Chula’s defining feature is not only its appearance but how the topping changes the way the drink can be consumed. Stein says the custard’s fat content helps it hold its shape rather than immediately blending into the liquid. Drinkers can mix in as much or as little as they like, adjusting the balance between the foam’s creaminess and sweetness and the cocktail’s tart passion fruit and lime.
That approach gives the topping a functional role in the drink rather than treating it as decoration alone. Stein described the cocktail as “interactive,” saying she wanted to create “duality and balance.” The report offers Stein’s account of the drink’s design and customer response; it does not include independent sales figures or customer research.
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From Pisco Sour Idea to Mami Chula
Stein initially created the Cava custard while working on a crème brûlée-inspired Pisco Sour, but the combination eventually led her toward a different format. The Pornstar Martini supplied a useful template: vanilla and passion fruit, typically paired with a sparkling wine served alongside the cocktail. In the Mami Chula, the drink uses rum rather than the vodka commonly associated with that style, while the Cava appears in the topping.
The presentation also changed during development. Stein said an earlier version was served in a taller glass and had its foam’s edge caramelized with a torch. She felt that iteration could appear “almost too over-the-top.” The current mini milkshake glass and branded straws make for a more modest presentation, according to Stein. She told VinePair that the drink became one of Papi’s best-sellers after the change, but the report provides no sales data or timeframe for that claim.
““It was a little bit of a scavenger hunt, starting from a small concept and then just building around that.””
— Izzy Stein, Papi’s beverage and creative director, speaking to VinePair
The source does not state when the Mami Chula was added to the menu, whether it is available year-round, or what it costs. It also does not provide exact ingredient quantities, nutritional information or a full preparation specification for the foam. Stein’s description of the cocktail as one of Papi’s best-sellers is not accompanied by sales data, a comparison period or a ranking method.
The report describes the drink and the bar’s development process, but does not independently establish how customers generally respond to it. Availability and any menu changes may differ over time; readers should check with Papi for current details.
Check Papi for Current Availability
No launch date, future menu change or related event is announced in the source material. The immediate next step for anyone interested in trying the Mami Chula is to contact Papi in Portland, Maine, or check the bar’s current menu and service information. The report provides no indication of whether Stein plans further revisions or additional drinks using the Cava custard technique.
Key Questions
What is the Mami Chula?
It is a cocktail at Papi in Portland, Maine, made with rum, lime and passion fruit, and topped with Cava custard foam. Stein describes it as inspired by the flavor profile and sparkling-wine pairing of a Pornstar Martini.
What is in the Cava custard foam?
According to Stein, it combines Cava reduced by about 40 percent with egg yolk, cream and vanilla. The mixture is aerated in an iSi canister. The source does not provide exact quantities.
How is the cocktail’s base made?
The base uses rum infused with house-made bourbon and vanilla bean paste, along with passion fruit liqueur, syrup and pulp and lime juice. The shaken drink is served over ice.
Is the Mami Chula currently available, and how much does it cost?
The source does not provide a current availability schedule or price. Check Papi’s current menu or contact the bar for up-to-date information.
Source: vinepair.com
