Singapore Sling
Singapore Sling - This would have a much more informed post had COVID-19 not cancelled my trip to Singapore last May, BUT! this drink goes back a long way with me. In my first bartending gig (mid-Eighties…OMG…) I was schooled the proper way by an exceptional teacher @NancyCurry (Thx Nancy!) to make a drink. She started at the base level; everything in its proper place and order. The Singapore Sling was one of the first “Fancy” cocktails I was taught to make. Now I have to admit, I have lost that original recipe, but from what I have learned, it is very hard to confirm what the original recipe was intended to be. The folks at Smuggler’s Cove are certainly to be trusted with this current, curated version.
We know WHO created it, as it was Ngiam Tong Boon. Boon was a Chinese-born bartender who was training in Vietnam, then moved to Singapore and worked at the Adelphi Hotel. He then took his services to Raffles, which at the time was Singapore’s finest hotel. He work there from around 1900 to his death in 1915. There was a Newspaper reference to “Pink Sling” in 1903. There were many Gin Sling drinks at the time, but this seems to be the only reference to narrow the time of invention. The controversy is mostly around what type of Cherry Liqueur was used. Either Cherry Heering, Cherry Brandy or Kirsch. Trader Vic’s has multiple versions in their cocktail books. Regardless, it is nice to serve a drink with some history!
2 oz Seltzer (Soda Stream)
.75 oz fresh Lemon Juice
.25 oz Demerara Syrup
.5 oz Cherry Heering Liqueur
.25 Benedictine
2 oz The Botanist - ISlay Dry Gin
1 Dash Angostura Aromatic Bitters
1 Dash Angostura Orange Bitters
Add the seltzer to the bottom of a Collins glass. Add the rest of the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with cubed and cracked ice. Shake and strain into the glass. Top off with more cracked ice if needed.
Garnish with a Lemon Wedge speared with an umbrella. Finish with a bamboo straw!
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