Singapore Sling - How 2 Make the Classic Tiki Drink & the History Behind It (Smuggler's Cove recipe)
How to make the Singapore Sling, the classic cocktail made with Gin, Cherry Liqueur, Benedictine, Simple Syrup, Lemon Juice, Soda Water, Aromatic Bitters, Orange Bitters and, optionally, a lemon wheel, mint and a Maraschino Cherry for garnish. This drink was adopted as a Tiki standard and my favorite recipe comes from the handbook for the recently tikified, Smuggler’s Cove.
The most popular rumor about this drink was that it was created in 1915 by Ngiam Tong Boon at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. This creation was also supposed to be made with pineapple juice. However, most of this story was embellished or outright invented by the Raffles Hotel manager from the 1970’s. The only part of the story that was confirmable was that Ngiam worked at Raffles around the turn-of-the-century.
The real story of this drink traces back to the 19th century. A Sling is a drink category that, according to David Wondrich began an American creation, but in English hands became more of a punch, which by the mid-to-late 1800’s became the standard definition of a Sling. And a sling English bartenders loved to experiment with throughout the British Empire was the Gin Sling.
In Singapore (part of the Straits Settlement at the time), what would later become known at the Straits Sling or—more commonly—the Singapore Sling, was originally just referred to as the Gin Sling. Accounts of Singapore’s Gin Sling started popping up in newspaper accounts in 1897, but it was clear that they had firmly been established as part of the drinking scene by that time.
The recipe appeared in print in 1913, 1922 and then in several books throughout the 1930’s. The recipes from the 30’s were all in the same ballpark measurement and ingredient-wise. This was the recipe that Donn Beach put on his menu when he established the first tiki bar, Don the Beachcomber. He had discovered the drink on his travels through the pacific in the mid-1920’s.
Even though the drink pre-dates Tiki, it was definitely a staple of a lot of tiki menus. But it makes sense because it was built in the style of a punch, much like a lot of Donn’s original drinks were and just like Donn’s drinks, this one was composed of some exciting and exotic flavors.
I R&D’ed this drink pretty extensively. I made half a dozen Singapore Slings from various recipes and compared them side-by-side, including one of the pineapple juice recipes. The hands-down winner was the Smuggler’s Cove recipe, which did not stray too far from the 1930’s recipes. It just added some simple syrup (or in their case rich simple syrup, but 1:1 syrup was perfect for me) to help round off some of the more tart edges of the citrus and it works like a charm.
As for the garnish, it’s really up to you. I used a lemon wheel, cherry and mint, but play around with it and figure out what works best for you. It’s not like Three Dots & a Dash ( or the Navy Grog ( where the garnish is central to the presentation, but it’s definitely something to play around with to make the drink more exotic. Okole Maluna!
Recipe:
1.5 oz (45ml) Gin
0.5 oz (15ml) Cherry Liqueur
0.25 oz (7ml) Benedictine
0.25 oz (7ml) Simple Syrup
0.75 oz (22ml) Lemon Juice
1 dash Aromatic Bitters
1 dash Orange Bitters
2 oz Soda Water
garnish Lemon Wheel, Mint, Maraschino Cherry (optional)
Add ice and soda to the Collins glass. Shake the rest of the ingredients with ice cubes. Strain into the glass. Add garnishes and straw.
Music:
Asian Celebration 1 & 3 by Bo Järpehag
via Epidemic Sound
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Featured in this Episode:
Ford’s Gin
Combier Rouge Cherry Liqueur
Benedictine
Regan’s Orange Bitters
Angostura Bitters
Soda Siphon
Maraschino Cherries
Beachbum Berry’s Sippin’ Safari by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry
Beachbum Berry’s Sippin’ Safari 10th Anniversary Edition by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry
Imbibe! by David Wondrich
Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails by Ted Haigh
Smuggler's Cove by Martin & Rebecca Cate
Bar Tools:
Schott Zwiesel Collins Glasses
Cocktail Pick (Pineapple)
Leopold Jigger
Usagi Cobbler Shaker
Bamboo Straw
Citrus Juicer (Lemon)
Cutting Board
Small Knife
#SingaporeSling #Tiki #SmugglersCove
How to make a Singapore Sling: the original Raffles recipe | Condé Nast Traveller
Since it was invented in the early 20th century by Raffles bartender Ngiam Tong Boon, the Singapore Sling cocktail has become world-famous and known as the island-state's national drink. Pairing gin with fresh pineapple juice and zingy lime, this cocktail is the ideal drink for a hot summer’s day. Here, Raffles bar manager Damien Wee shows us how to make it perfectly. Watch more Condé Nast Traveller recipe videos ►► Subscribe to Condé Nast Traveller magazine ►►
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How to make a Singapore Sling: the original Raffles recipe | Condé Nast Traveller
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Recipe Inspiration: Singapore Sling
This iconic cocktail gained popularity in the early 20th century when it was first created at a hotel bar in Singapore. We're elevating this classic by infusing it with a burst of tart cherry flavor, adding a bold and irresistible twist to the traditional recipe. Check out the recipe below and stay tuned for more seasonal sips from Monin!
Singapore Sling
Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz. Gin
1/2 oz. Orange Liqueur
3/4 oz. Monin Tart Cherry Syrup (
4 oz. Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
3 Dashes Bitters
Preparation:
Fill a 16-oz. serving glass with ice and add the ingredients in the order listed. Transfer into a mixing tin and back to thoroughly mix. Garnish with cherries and pineapple leaves, and enjoy!
Monin Gourmet Flavorings is a leading global brand and flavor manufacturer specializing in premium syrups, sauces, purées, and more. Trusted by professionals and home enthusiasts, our wide range of versatile products offers exceptional quality and taste, perfect for enhancing a variety of beverage and culinary creations.
The Singapore Sling | Created at the Raffles Hotel or just another tall tale?
While the Raffles Hotel in Singapore claims to be the birthplace of the Singapore Sling we know of today, cocktail historian David Wondrich found evidence of other similar gin Slings in Singapore prior to 1915 when the Raffles Hotel claimed to have invented the drink.
The Sling is historically a very simple cocktail with recipes often with only spirit, sugar, and nutmeg and may have been named after the idea of slinging one back. The slings we think of today are far more complicated often with various juices and liqueurs. The Gin Sling itself was incredibly popular during the early 1900s and references can be found throughout print during the time, but the unique combination of gin, cherry herring, and Benedictine appears to be an evolution of the drink that happened in Singapore in the early 1900s and the popularity of the drink today can be traced to the Raffles Hotel who reformulated the drink in the 1970s to make the drink we know today.
Learn more about the Singapore Sling here:
The recipe I'm sharing today is the reformulated version from the 1970s, the one that became popular. The Raffles Hotel has never claimed to know the exact version from 1915, and this recreated recipe was supposedly re-created from first-hand accounts. However, this seems to be one more closely associated with the preferences of drinkers we see in the 1970s and 1980s. While this recipe may be important to know and share, there doesn't seem to be much reverence even from The Raffles Hotel who have changed its ingredients in recent years to make a drink to be more aligned with today's preferences.
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???? *Episode Chapters* ????
00:00 Introduction and History
02:52 Singapore Sling Ingredients List
03:03 Making the Singapore Sling
04:42 Singapore Sling Recipe Card
04:53 Drinking the Singapore Sling
???? *Recipe(s)* ????
Singapore Sling
From the Raffles Hotel by Ngiam Tong Boon
1 dash angostura bitters
¼ oz lime juice 7.5 ml)
4 oz pineapple juice (120 ml)
⅓ oz grenadine (10 ml)
¼ oz Cointreau (7.5 ml)
¼ oz Benedictine (7.5 ml)
½ oz Cherry Heering (15 ml)
1 oz Gin (30 ml)
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Singapore Sling - Tipsy Bartender
This gin based drink from Singapore is super fruity and popular!
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Singapore Sling Tutorial from Raffles Singapore
For the cocktail connoisseurs: Raffles Hotel Singapore shares its finest and famed Singapore Sling recipe, invented at the hotel in 1915.
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