Singapore Sling

[Suvir Saran]

How does it rate in your book??

[Wilfrid]

I ordered this at the Raffles in Singapore once (yes,name-dropping), but it was an enormous anti-climax, as they sprayed it ready-made from a tap.  

A long time since I drank it, but I remember it being a little sweet; something one could probably control if one made it oneself.

[Suvir Saran]

And for my notorious sweet tooth, it was wonderful.  I was one amongst many that was actually impressed by it.  The rest like you found it too sweet and an anti-climax.

I also loved the famous peanuts they serve in bottomless bowls.  Wow... they were the crunchiest, tastiest peanuts I have ever eaten.  I am sure if made at home, the cocktail could be more refined and brought back to its old glory.

Below is the recipe and note that come in the cards they hand out at the Long Bar.

Singapore Sling

The Singapore Sling was created at the Raffles Hotel at the turn-of-the-century by Hainanese-Chinese bartender, Mr. Ngiam Tong Boon.

In the Hotel's museum, visitors may view the safe in which Mr. Ngiam locked away his precious recipe books, as well as the Sling recipe hastily jotted down on a bar chit in 1936 by a visitor to the hotel who asked for it.

Originally, the Singapore Sling was meant as a woman's drink, hence the attractive pink colour.  Today, it is very definitely a drink enjoyed by all, without which any visit to Raffles Hotel is incomplete.

Recipe

30 ml Gin

15 ml Cherry Brandy

120 ml Pineapple Juice

15 ml lime juice

7.5 ml cointreau

7.5 ml Dom Benedectine

10 ml Grenadine

A Dash of Angostura Bitters

Garnish with a slice of Pineapple and Cherry

[Ol' Dirty Chinaman]

Singapore Sling as I know it:

1oz Gin

Top with Orange Juice/Lemon Juice

Float dash of Cherry Brandy

Float two dashes of grenadine

Garnish with orange slice, cherry

You want to make sure you use a tall, thin glass .. the grenadine will look sexy coming down

There's a bartender around here that can make a singapore sling in just under 10 seconds from a speed rail.

Tasty drink tho ...

Edited September 25, 2003 by Ol' Dirty Chinaman (log)

[DrinkBoy]

I'm featuring the "Singapore Sling" on my website currently, along with a little more information about it's history and proper construction.

http://www.drinkboy.com/Cocktails/recipes/...aporeSling.html

At the moment, my server is having some problems, and is prompting for a password to get in :-< trying to get the techs to fix it.

Anytime a cocktail becomes "popular" but it's authentic recipe is not easily found (or it is "carefully guarded") we will see wild variations in the recipe cropping up as various bartenders attempt to simulate it when a customer comes in and asks for one. Usually they base their simulations simply on the customer saying things like "well, it was sort of reddish, fruity flavored, and I think he said it used gin." If the customer seems to like it, then that bartender will not only use this recipe, but pass it on as well. It always disturbs me greatly when I see such "sham" recipes being unfortunately propogated as the right way to make the drink.

Here is the recipe as currently in use by Raffles:

Singapore Sling

1 1/2 ounce gin

1/2 ounce Cherry Herring brandy

1/4 ounce Cointreau

1/4 ounce Benedictine

4 ounces pineapple juice

1/2 ounce lime juice

1/3 ounce grenadine

dash bitters

Shake with ice. Strain into an ice filled collins glass. Garnish with cherry and slice of pineapple.

(basically the same as was provided by Suvir Saran earlier in this thread)

I have been to Raffles, and had the Singapore Sling there, and like Wilfrid, I was quite dissapointed. They were making them in huge quantities, and what I was served was "not" what is listed in the above recipe, since I've made it as listed, and it tastes great.

For the Singapore Sling, it is important that it includes "Benedictine", this is sort of the "secret ingredient" for this drink, kind of like the chocolate in "Mole Nego".

The Singapore Sling as it curently is served at Raffles... unfortunately is most likely not the "original" recipe. Apparently the drink wasn't served there for a while, and everybody forgot how it was made. So they "recreated it" based on some written notes that they found, as well as memories of former bartenders and customers. One story even has it that they ended up relying on a hastily scrawled recipe on the back of a napkin that a former customer was able to produce.

Some feel that the original recipe was perhaps a drink that came to be known as the "Straights Sling", which is very similar to the Singapore Sling, but with some slight differences:

Straits Sling

2 ounces gin

1/2 ounce dry cherry brandy

1/2 ounce benedictine

1 ounce lemon juice

2 dashes of orange bitters

2 dashes of Angostura bitters

Shake with ice. Strain into an ice filled tumbler or collins glass.

Fill with soda water

-Robert

www.DrinkBoy.com