Singapore Sling
- 1½ oz London Dry gin
- 1/2 oz cherry liqueur (Cherry Heering)
- 1/4 oz Cointreau
- 1/4 oz Bénédictine
- 1/4 oz grenadine
- 1 oz fresh squeezed pineapple juice
- 1/2 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
- 1 dash Angostura bitters
Short shake with ice and strain into a highball glass filled with ice cubes. Alternatively, it also works if served up: shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a pineapple segment and a brandied cherry.
The Singapore Sling first emerged in the early 1900s when it became popular to take one's gin sling with a little cherry brandy. There's a story that it was invented at the Long Bar of the Raffles Hotel in Singapore but what's not so clear is what was in it. Even in the late 1940s David Embury writes that of all the published recipes for the Singapore Sling he has never seen any two that were alike.
As with so many myths regarding the origin of cocktails the Raffles Hotel story is just that—a story. The drink was likely well known for over a decade before. And thanks to David Wondrich, and the younger members of the Singapore Cricket Club, who demanded that they be served one in the club bar, we even have a recipe.
The recipe above is our own amalgam of a recipe from Liquor.com with one from Dale DeGroff and one from Death & Co. while paying homage to the recipe claimed as the original by the Raffles Hotel. It is a little sweet and there is a strong taste of pineapple but it is not overpowering. It tastes rather like a classic Tiki fruit punch although it's origins lie some thirty years before the Tiki era.
Recipes appear evenly divided between pineapple juice or topping up with club soda instead with the hint that club soda may have been the original. All recipes are agreed that the drink should be served over ice cubes in a tall glass. We like the pineapple version and find that this version also works if shaken and served up.