The Singapore Sling is a gin-based cocktail from Singapore. This long drink was developed sometime before 1915 by Ngiam Tong Boon, a Hainanese bartender working at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel, Singapore. It was initially called the gin sling - a sling was originally a North American drink composed of spirit and water, sweetened and flavored.
Video Singapore Sling
History
D. A. Embury stated in the Fine Art of Mixing Drinks: "Of all the recipes published for [this drink] I have never seen any two that were alike." The Times described the "original recipe" as mixing two measures of gin with one of cherry brandy and one each of orange, pineapple, and lime juice An alternative "original recipe" used gin, Cherry Heering, Bénédictine, and fresh pineapple juice, primarily from Sarawak (or "smooth cayenne") pineapples, which enhances the flavor and creates a foamy top. The hotel's recipe was recreated based on the memories of former bartenders and written notes that they discovered regarding the original recipe.
Maps Singapore Sling
Present style
By the 1980s, the Singapore Sling was often little more than gin, bottled sweet and sour, and grenadine. With the move towards fresh juices and the re-emergence of quality products like Cherry Heering, the cocktail has begun to resemble its original version. Recipes published in articles about Raffles Hotel before the 1970s are significantly different from current recipes, and Singapore Slings drunk elsewhere in Singapore differ from the recipe used at Raffles Hotel.The Original Singapore Sling costs S$36.20, after service charge and GST.To celebrate this iconic creation and the 125 years since the hotel's opening in 1887, Raffles Hotel Singapore's iconic Long Bar has created a new champagne sling. The 1887 sling, with a base of the hotel's limited-edition Billecart-Salmon Brut Réserve champagne, offers a subtle twist on the hotel's traditional recipe. While the recipe for this intricate cocktail will be kept a closely guarded secret, its creator, Randolf Velasco, reveals that Gordons gin, cointreau and essence of orange, lemon and lime all contribute to the libation's one-of-a-kind flavor.
Gin slings
The gin sling, attested from 1790, described a North American drink of gin which was flavoured, sweetened and served cold. The Singapore sling has been documented as early as 1930 as a recipe in the Savoy Cocktail Book; Ingredients ¼ lemon juice, ¼ Dry Gin, ½ Cherry Brandy: "Shake well and strain into medium size glass, and fill with soda water. Add 1 lump of ice".
Brewer's refers to the gin-sling as "a drink mainly composed of gin and lemon" and states that it has been attributed to bartender John Collins of London, "but it dates from before his time and was found in the U.S.A. by 1800" which is similar to the John Collins which is another drink of gin and lemon.
See also
- Tom Collins
- John Collins
- List of cocktails
References
Further reading
- "The Genealogy and Mythology of the Singapore Sling," Ted "Dr. Cocktail" Haigh, in Mixologist: The Journal of the American Cocktail, 2007, ISBN 978-0-9760937-0-1
- Andrew F. Smith: The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink. Oxford University Press 2007, ISBN 978-0-19-530796-2, p. 567 (online copy, p. 567, at Google Books)
- Rob Chirico: Field Guide to Cocktails: How to Identify and Prepare Virtually Every Mixed Drink at the Bar. Quirk Books 2005, ISBN 978-1-59474-063-3, p. 257 (online copy, p. 257, at Google Books)
External links
- 100th Anniversary of the original Singapore Sling at Raffles Singapore
- SingaporeSling recipe at DrinkBoy
- Jason Wilson (February 2011). "For a better Singapore Sling, the answer is clear (not red)". Washington Post.
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