Singapore Sling

Singapore Sling

IBA Official Cocktail
Type	Mixed drink
Primary alcohol by volume	Gin Brandy
Served	Straight up; without ice
Standard garnish	Maraschino cherry, pineapple
Standard drinkware	Poco Grande / Hurricane
IBA specified ingredients†	4.0 cl (8 parts) Gin 2.0 cl (4 parts) Heering Cherry Liqueur (cherry brandy) 0.5 cl (1 part) Cointreau 0.5 cl (1 part) DOM Bénédictine 1.0 cl (2 parts) Grenadine 8.0 cl (16 parts) Pineapple juice 3.0 cl (6 parts) Fresh lemon juice 1 dash Angostura bitters
Preparation	Pour all ingredients into cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain into Poco Grande glass. Garnish with pineapple and maraschino cherry.
†Singapore Sling recipe at International Bartenders Association

The Singapore Sling is a cocktail that was invented by Ngiam Tong Boon (嚴崇文) a bartender working at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel Singapore before 1910. The recipes published in articles about the Raffles Hotel prior to the 1970s are significantly different from the current recipes. There were also different "Singapore Slings" those drunk in Singapore at large and the recipe used at the Raffles Hotel. While recipes varied significantly, the cocktail at the Raffles Hotel remained the same. The original recipe used Gin, Cherry Heering, Dom Bénédictine and most importantly fresh Pineapple Juice especially from Sarawak Pineapples as it not only enhances the flavour but also for a nice foamy top. However, as most other recipes used bottled pineapple juice, club soda had to be added for foam. The recipe used by the hotel was the result of recreating the original recipe based on the memories of former bartenders and written notes that they were able to discover. One of the scribbled recipe is still on display at the Raffles Hotel Museum.

The current Raffles Hotel recipe is a much modified version of the original, most likely changed sometime in the 1970s by Ngiam Tong Boon's nephew. Today, much of the Singapore Sling served at the Raffles Hotel has been pre-mixed and is dispensed using an automatic dispenser which combines both alcohol and pineapple juice to pre-set volumes. It is then blended instead of shaken to create a nice foamy top as well as to save time due to large number of orders. However, it is still possible to request for a shaken version from bartenders.

A premixed Singapore Sling at the Long Bar in the Raffles Hotel, Singapore costs S$25.90 (including a 10% service charge and a 7% Goods/Services Tax) (as of January 8, 2009). This roughly equates to £11.76, $16.85 and €13.23.

External links

• SingaporeSling recipe at DrinkBoy
• Dr.Cocktail (Ted Haigh) Singapore Sling Article