Singapore Sling - How 2 Make the Classic Tiki Drink & the History Behind It (Smuggler's Cove recipe)

How to make the Singapore Sling, the classic cocktail made with Gin, Cherry Liqueur, Benedictine, Simple Syrup, Lemon Juice, Soda Water, Aromatic Bitters, Orange Bitters and, optionally, a lemon wheel, mint and a Maraschino Cherry for garnish. This drink was adopted as a Tiki standard and my favorite recipe comes from the handbook for the recently tikified, Smuggler’s Cove.
The most popular rumor about this drink was that it was created in 1915 by Ngiam Tong Boon at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. This creation was also supposed to be made with pineapple juice. However, most of this story was embellished or outright invented by the Raffles Hotel manager from the 1970’s. The only part of the story that was confirmable was that Ngiam worked at Raffles around the turn-of-the-century.
The real story of this drink traces back to the 19th century. A Sling is a drink category that, according to David Wondrich began an American creation, but in English hands became more of a punch, which by the mid-to-late 1800’s became the standard definition of a Sling. And a sling English bartenders loved to experiment with throughout the British Empire was the Gin Sling.
In Singapore (part of the Straits Settlement at the time), what would later become known at the Straits Sling or-more commonly-the Singapore Sling, was originally just referred to as the Gin Sling. Accounts of Singapore’s Gin Sling started popping up in newspaper accounts in 1897, but it was clear that they had firmly been established as part of the drinking scene by that time.
The recipe appeared in print in 1913, 1922 and then in several books throughout the 1930’s. The recipes from the 30’s were all in the same ballpark measurement and ingredient-wise. This was the recipe that Donn Beach put on his menu when he established the first tiki bar, Don the Beachcomber. He had discovered the drink on his travels through the pacific in the mid-1920’s.
Even though the drink pre-dates Tiki, it was definitely a staple of a lot of tiki menus. But it makes sense because it was built in the style of a punch, much like a lot of Donn’s original drinks were and just like Donn’s drinks, this one was composed of some exciting and exotic flavors.
I R&D’ed this drink pretty extensively. I made half a dozen Singapore Slings from various recipes and compared them side-by-side, including one of the pineapple juice recipes. The hands-down winner was the Smuggler’s Cove recipe, which did not stray too far from the 1930’s recipes. It just added some simple syrup (or in their case rich simple syrup, but 1:1 syrup was perfect for me) to help round off some of the more tart edges of the citrus and it works like a charm.
As for the garnish, it’s really up to you. I used a lemon wheel, cherry and mint, but play around with it and figure out what works best for you. It’s not like Three Dots & a Dash ( • Three Dots and a Dash ... ) or the Navy Grog ( • Navy Grog - How to Mak... ), where the garnish is central to the presentation, but it’s definitely something to play around with to make the drink more exotic. Okole Maluna!
Recipe:
1.5 oz (45ml) Gin
0.5 oz (15ml) Cherry Liqueur
0.25 oz (7ml) Benedictine
0.25 oz (7ml) Simple Syrup
0.75 oz (22ml) Lemon Juice
1 dash Aromatic Bitters
1 dash Orange Bitters
2 oz Soda Water
garnish Lemon Wheel, Mint, Maraschino Cherry (optional)
Add ice and soda to the Collins glass. Shake the rest of the ingredients with ice cubes. Strain into the glass. Add garnishes and straw.
Music:
Asian Celebration 1 & 3 by Bo Järpehag
via Epidemic Sound
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Featured in this Episode:
Ford’s Gin
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Combier Rouge Cherry Liqueur
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Benedictine
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Regan’s Orange Bitters
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Angostura Bitters
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Soda Siphon
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Maraschino Cherries
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Beachbum Berry’s Sippin’ Safari by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry
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Beachbum Berry’s Sippin’ Safari 10th Anniversary Edition by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry
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Imbibe! by David Wondrich
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Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails by Ted Haigh
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Smuggler's Cove by Martin & Rebecca Cate
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Bar Tools:
Schott Zwiesel Collins Glasses
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Cocktail Pick (Pineapple)
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Leopold Jigger
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Usagi Cobbler Shaker
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Bamboo Straw
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Citrus Juicer (Lemon)
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Cutting Board
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Small Knife
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