Raffles Bar Sling (1939)

[ThinkingBartender]

Hi Guys/ Gals,

My question is "What is the recipe that Trader Vic would have been using in

1939 for his 'Raffles Bar Sling'?".

Here is the text of the Advert I found it in:

"Oakland Tribune" 15th February 1939.

Famous for "Selective" Drinks.

"Vic" Bergeron Offers The Pleasure Loving People of Oakland and Exposition

Visitors Authentic Drinks Gathered From The Far Corners OF The World.

Mojito from Habana.

Rum Cow from Porto Rico.

Barbados Red Rum Swizzle.

Raffles Bar Sling from Singapore.

Champagne Apricot From France.

Cuban Presidente, From Habana.

Maui Fizz, From Honolulu.

Gin and Schweppes Tonic, From North Africa.

Pisco Punch, From Peru.

TRADER VIC

YOUR HOST

World Famous Drinks.

6500 San Pablo Ave. Oakland.

Cheers!

George S.

g.sinclair@yahoo.co.uk

http://www.wiki.webtender.com/wiki/

[Danne]

I'm also trying to find the answer to that.

I have two recepies, that I think that one of them should be right.

No.1

3 cl Gin

2 cl Heering

1 cl Benedictine DOM

3 cl Lemon juice

Pineaple juice

Shake well, exept the DOM, stain in highballglass and top with DOM.

No.2

2 cl Gin

3 cl Heering

2 cl Cointreau

1 cl Benedictine DOM

Lemon juice

Pineaple juice

Orange juice

Dash Angostura bitter

Dash grenadine

Shake well, exept the DOM, stain in highballglass and top with DOM.

[Alchemist]

I don't belive that there is any pineapple in the original. I think that people some how morphed it into a frou-frou drink because it has an exotic name, like the Mai Tai. Like Singapore it's self This drink is more utilitarian. There is probably an analogy about canings and happy endings, but it escapes me right now.

2 oz. gin

1/2 oz. Benedictine

1 oz. lemon juice

1/2 oz. cherry brandy

1/2 oz. simple

soda to top

lemon twist to garnish

forgot to add the last bit.

Edited August 19, 2006 by Alchemist (log)

[ThinkingBartender]

I suppose that I should clarify my question:

"What recipe would Trader Vic have been using in 1939 as the Raffles Bar Sling?"

Cheers!

George

g.sinclair@yahoo.co.uk

http://wiki.webtender.com/wiki/Singapore_Sling

[ThinkingBartender]

Dear All,

Does the following newspaper extract confirm Charles Bakers recipe of the Singapore Sling? or have they just paraphrased the entry from his book?

Eureka Humboldt Standard", 11th May 1966:

"And while we're in that neck of the woods, here is the Singapore Sling — from the noted Raffles Hotel. This is served ornamented with a spirally cut peel of lime, such as we used to enjoy in our childhood served in a glass of gingerale and called a "Horse's Neck." You need the finest, dryest gin you can obtain to make it perfectly. Also, fine cherry brandy and then Benedictine. At Raffles' they use equal parts, but we recommend increasing the percentage of gin to your own taste. Shake the mixture with a few ice cubes, then strain into a chilled highball glass with 1 ice cube — fill as far as you wish with chilled club soda, and decorate with the long peel."

Feel free to check out: http://wiki.webtender.com/wiki/Singapore_Sling

Cheers!

George

g.sinclair@yahoo.co.uk

[fatdeko]

From Trader Vic 1948:

Raffles Hotel Sling:

1 oz Dry Gin

1 oz Cherry Brandy

1 oz Benedictine

Shake with cracked ice; strain into 10 oz glass containing several lumps of

ice; fill with chilled club soda and garnish with a spiral peeling of 1 green

lime

Singapore Sling--1

1 1/2 oz dry gin

1/2 oz cherry brandy

1/2 oz lemon juice

1/2 lime

1 tsp grenadine

1/4 oz sloe gin

1/2 oz creme de cassis

Squeeze lime and drop into 12 oz glass with cracked ice; add rest of

ingredients and stir well; fill rest of glass with seltzer

Singapore Sling--2

Juice 1/2 lemon

1 dash benedictine

3/4 oz cherry brandy

2 oz dry gin

Stir in 12 oz glass with cracked ice; decorate with slice of orange and

sprig of mint; fill with seltzer and serve with straws

Gin Sling

1 1/2 oz dry gin

1 tsp sugar

1 lump ice

Dissolve sugar in 8 oz glass with dash of water; add ice and gin and stir

and fill with iced water or soda.

Note: for a hot drink mix in stem glass; add boiling water and dust with nutmeg

From Baker with just an appetizer portion of his entertaining preamble:

"But the Raffles drink is best, why we don't know, except that the best

Planter's Punch on earth is at the Myrtlebank in Kingston. When our soft

footed Malay boy brings the 4th Sling and finds us peering over the window

sill at the cobra-handling snake charmers tootling their confounded flutes

below, he murmurs "jaga baik-baik Tuan"--"jaga bye bye, too-wan", as it sounds

in English--or "Take care master" as it means in English. The Singapore Gin

Sling is a delicious, slow-acting, insidious thing.

The original formula is 1/3 each of dry gin, cherry brandy and Benedictine;

shake it for a moment, or stir in in a barglass, with 2 fairly large lumps of

ice to chill. Turn into a small 10 oz highball glass with one lump of ice

left in and fill up to individual taste with chilled club soda. Garnish with

the spiral peel of 1 green lime. In other ports in the Orient drinkers often

use C & C ginger ale instead of soda, or even stone bottle ginger beer.

Our own final improved formula calls for 2 parts dry or Tom gin, to 1 part

cherry brandy and 1 part Benedictine. This is dryer, not too sweet. We also

use a trifle more ice in the glass than the Raffles technique. One lump melts

too quickly where we live among the coconut palms!"

Ted also does a fairly comprehensive review of the Singapore Sling's history

and evolution in "MIXOLOGIST Vol 1", suggesting that the "Cherry Brandy"

portion of printed recipes might refer to cherry eau de vie rather than a

sweetened liqeur like Heering.

Cancel your subscription to Newspaperarchives.com and get you some books, man!

;-)

myers

[ThinkingBartender]

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"Ha. The information contained in them old newspapers are just as plausible as

anything contained in them old books!-) In a few cases these newspaper

articles are written by the same people who wrote the books, and in most cases

they are at least written by their contemporaries.

Most of the stuff in Teds Singapore Sling is from 2002(?) when he first

drafted his Singapore Sling Thesis. It was a bit loose them, and is mostly his

opinion. No other contemporary sources were cited other than the 3 recipes.

The Cherry Brandy/ Cherry Eau de Vie argument was also first proposed in 2002.

> From Trader Vic 1948:

>

> Raffles Hotel Sling:

> 1 oz Dry Gin

> 1 oz Cherry Brandy

> 1 oz Benedictine

> Shake with cracked ice; strain into 10 oz glass containing several

> lumps of ice; fill with chilled club soda and garnish with a spiral

> peeling of 1 green lime

This is the recipe I was after, I will assume that this is what Trader Vic was

selling in Oakland in 1939. And lo, it is exactly the same as the 1966

Newspaper article and Baker's recipe.

But why is no sour in any of them? If the Cherry Brandy was the dry Eau de

Vie, then that would explain the 1 oz of benedictine, gotta have something

sweet to smooth the gin and eau de vie.

I wonder what the Sinaporeans did with the limes once they peeled them into

"horse's necks" for the Sling? They must have added lime juice to it, or not?

Cheers!

George S."

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