Tipple

Singapore Sling

Hurricane GlassShake & top

Origin

Ngiam Tong Boon · Long Bar, Raffles Hotel, Singapore · 1915

Created by Hainanese bartender Ngiam Tong Boon as a gin sling disguised as a fruit punch so that ladies could drink it socially. The modern Raffles version differs notably from Ngiam's original recipe.

The 1915 Raffles Hotel original — a long, layered tropical drink masquerading as a sling.

Ingredients

  • 1½ oz Gin
  • ½ oz Cherry Heering
  • ¼ oz Cointreau
  • ¼ oz Bénédictine
  • 4 oz Pineapple juice
  • ½ oz fresh Lime juice
  • ⅓ oz Grenadine
  • 1 dash Angostura Bitters
  • Soda water to top

Instructions

  1. Shake everything except the soda hard with ice for 12–15 seconds.
  2. Strain into a hurricane or collins glass filled with fresh ice.
  3. Top with a splash of soda water.
  4. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and a cherry.

Tips

  • This is the real Raffles spec — pineapple-forward and frothy, not the sweet red tourist sludge.
  • Cherry Heering is non-negotiable; a generic "cherry brandy" will skew the drink saccharine.

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