Many travellers visit the Long Bar which is located above the Raffles Hotel to indulge in this gin-based beverage. The Long Bar is perhaps the most costly place to get a Singapore Sling but it might be worth it for the high-quality ingredients and the memories and atmosphere of the magnificent Long Bar. With its dazzling pink tint, foamy top, lemon slice, occasionally pineapple, and glacé cherry garnish, it oozes playfulness from colonial Singapore at the turn of the century.

History of Singapore Sling

The Singapore Sling is said to have been invented by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore in 1915 or thereabouts. The hotel’s Long Bar had been a popular gathering area at the time, thanks to its proximity to the newly enhanced rail and road systems that brought rubber and palm oil plantation owners from Malaya to Singapore every weekend. It was so well-known that it was dubbed the “Rendezvous of Planters”.
Of course, men were present, but what is more intriguing is a twist that sees the Singapore Sling entwined with some type of feminism. Women were not permitted to drink alcohol in public at the time. To preserve their modesty, they were forced to drink just juices and teas.
To create the original Singapore Sling, Ngiam experimented with ingredients in order to create a good and attractive cocktail that appeared to be juice for female consumers but was actually mixed with a kick of gin. Unfortunately, most of those slings from the 1960s had been reduced to gin, covered in fruit juice, and lacked the complex flavours of the original recipe. The Singapore Sling is a classic cocktail that when done properly will please even the most seasoned drinker.

How to Make a Singapore Sling

The Singapore Sling recipe varies depending on who you ask, however there are eight basic ingredients that everyone agrees on:
25mL Dry gin
25mL Cherry-flavoured brandy
25mL Benedictine
10mL Cointreau
50mL Pineapple juice
25mL Lime juice
10mL Grenadine
3 drops of Angostura bitters
For garnish: Slice of fresh pineapple and cocktail cherry
Fill a Collins glass with one cup of ice and place it in the freezer. In a cocktail shaker, combine gin, cherry-flavoured brandy, Benedictine, Cointreau, pineapple juice, lime juice, and Grenadine. Cover and shake with one cup of ice and three drops of bitters until chilled and strain into the prepared glass. Serve with a pineapple slice and a cherry on top.