The Singapore Sling

Give the sling a shot

The Singapore Sling is (in)famous around the world as a tacky tourist must-do. But if made properly, it's a true classic. By Joanne Gibson.

 

If ever there was a cocktail to inspire armchair (or barstool) travel from South African suburbia to the gently swaying palm fronds of an exotic destination, it surely has to be the Singapore Sling.

I reckon you could quite easily visit New York without sipping a Manhattan, Long Island without drinking the eponymous Iced Tea, or Russia without downing a Moscow Mule.

But no visit to Singapore, and to the Raffles Hotel in particular, would be complete without ordering the sling first slung by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon sometime between 1902 (when Singapore's sole surviving wild tiger was shot to death while cowering beneath the hotel's Bar & Billiard Room) and 1910.

These days, of course, it would be a grievous mistake simply to order a Singapore Sling at the famous, peanut shell-strewn Long Bar, because you'd get a garish cherry- pink, sickly-sweet, heavily modified premix, blended and frothily dispensed by a machine - and you'd have to cough up some S$25 (over R135 at the current exchange rate) for the very dubious pleasure.

"And perhaps madam would care to purchase this exquisite sling glass and some premix to take home with her...?"

Happily you can still specially request a shaken Singapore Sling from one of the bartenders, based on the original recipe (or as close to the original as piecing together the scribbled notes of former bartenders has allowed).

Better yet, you can make it yourself at home, adding a paper umbrella and maraschino cherry if you wish to transport yourself through time and the colonies to a bygone era of cruise ships and punkah-wallahs operating the overhead ceiling fans by hand...

You'd be in good company, too. Some of the Raffles Hotel's earliest guests included writers Joseph Conrad (who has a suite named after him), Somerset Maugham (who misbehaved so doesn't) and Rudyard Kipling. Actors Noel Coward, Jean Harlow and Charlie Chaplin also stayed here, while Queen Elizabeth II and George HW Bush have been more recent guests.

In the early days, the Singapore Sling was probably known as a Straits Sling - the sling itself dating back to the late 1600s and defined as a traditional long drink prepared by stirring ingredients over ice, the glass then filled up with juice and/or club soda.

In his Gentleman's Companion (first published in 1939), American drinks writer Charles H Baker Jr describes the Singaporean version as a "delicious, slow-acting, insidious thing" - and, indeed, it does taste dangerously benign. The recreated Raffles recipe contains pineapple juice (16 parts), freshly squeezed lime juice (two parts) and some grenadine for colour.

But add to this veritable health drink four parts of gin, two parts of cherry brandy, one part each of triple sec (orange liqueur) and Benedictine (a French herbal liqueur containing 27 plants and spices), and you too could soon find yourself misbehaving beneath the frangipani trees like Somerset Maugham.

The trick, as always, is to use quality ingredients: a premium gin like crisp, citrussy Beefeater or smooth, aromatic Tanqueray; a good cherry liqueur like Cherry Marnier or Bols Cherry Brandy (the original Raffles recipe called for Heering Cherry); Cointreau (not triple sec); fresh fruit juice (again, the original recipe specified pineapples from Sarawak on the island of Borneo, as these naturally give the drink a foamy top); and pomegranate juice instead of grenadine ("grenade" is French for pomegranate, but these days the sugary red syrup is mostly made using artificial ingredients).

Make a Singapore Sling in the way (or at least in the spirit) intended by Ngiam Tong Boon, and you'll discover a true classic: not too sweet, not too weak, and all its flavourful components in perfect harmony.

SINGAPORE SLING
30ml gin
15ml cherry brandy
120ml pineapple juice
15ml lime juice
7.5ml Cointreau
7.5ml Benedictine
10ml grenadine
Dash of Angostura Bitters

Pour all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain into a glass and garnish with pineapple and a maraschino cherry.

Note: For the Singapore Sling, you can either use a sling glass (a tall glass with a tapered, solid stem) or a Collins glass (as pictured on the previous spread). A wide variety of cocktail glasses are available from Crystal Direct (Tel 021 872 3454, www.crystaldirect.co.za).

GIN FACTFILE
Originally distilled in Holland as a remedy for gout and gallstones, gin was also enjoyed for health reasons in the mosquito-ridden colonies where it helped the bitter quinine in tonic water slide down.

Unlike most other white spirits, which are neutral in flavour, gin oozes character thanks to being redistilled in the presence of juniper berries, coriander seeds and up to 20 other herbs and spices. Known as botanicals, these vary according to each distiller's secret recipe.

The styles generally available include London Dry (which doesn't refer to place of production but means the gin is lightly flavoured and very dry), Plymouth (slightly fuller and more aromatic) and flavoured (usually orange, lemon or lime flavoured due to citrus peel being macerated in the cold spirit).

In a Singapore Sling, try Beefeater 24, the new super-premium expression of Beefeater which was launched in October 2008 and was named best gin at last year's International Wine & Spirit competition (the seventh time in 10 years that Beefeater has received the trophy). Distilled by Desmond Payne, the world's most experienced gin distiller with over 40 years in the industry, Beefeater 24 is made from 12 handselected botanicals with a rare blend of teas at its heart.

Alternatively, try Tanqueray, which has a rich juniper flavour along with hints of coriander and angelica. It is made using a unique quadruple-distillation process for extra smoothness, so it mixes exceptionally well - hence its presentation in a bottle shaped like a cocktail shaker.