The Singapore Sling

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One of the great Tiki cocktails.

According to lore, the Singapore Sling was invented by Nigiam Toon Boon, a bartender at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore in 1915, allegedly to allow women to clandestinely drink a cocktail with liquor in it, thanks to its benign fruit juice appearance.  Either or both stories may be apocryphal, especially given that Ngiam died in 1915.

Famously, no two recipes for the cocktail are identical.  (The supposedly “authentic” Singapore Sling served at the present-day Raffles Hotel is almost universally regarded as bogus.)

Here, for whatever it may be worth, is my recipe.  It is a close copy of one of the better recipes I’ve run across:

I like serving it in a hurricane glass, but a highball glass works well, and one of those whimsically exotic ceramic Tiki glasses can be lots of fun.

Build on ice in a mixing tin, preferably a Boston shaker.

1.5 oz. gin, preferably Beefeater.

1.5 oz. cherry brandy, preferably Heering Cherry Liqueur.

1 oz. Cointreau.

0.75 oz. Benedictine.  (This is crucial; it won’t taste like a Singapore Sling without it.)

2 dashes Angostura bitters. (Also crucial)

0.5 oz. lime juice.

1.5 oz. pineapple juice.

Splash of grenadine, for color.

Shake until contents are well mixed.

Pour into glass.

Garnish with a Maraschino Cherry, preferably Luxardo, which is pricey but what the hell.

Many recipes call for 2.5 to 3 oz. gin, which is arguably more authentic, but in my opinion overwhelms the other ingredients.

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