You can’t go to Singapore and not have a sling!
However I nearly did that just that, as I didn’t know where to find it. I’d heard of it and I’m sure I’ve bandied the phrase around like a pro drinker, but it was as if the planets had aligned when I stumbled upon Raffles Hotel after shopping my way back to where I thought I was staying. I realised then I was meant to punctuate my afternoon with the famous pink tipple. (Besides, it was about 35C outside and the air conditioning was as essential as a mid-afternoon cocktail.)
The deliciously naughty drink was created here at Raffles Hotel at the turn of last century by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon. He kept his recipe locked away in the hotel safe, along with a scribbled copy on a bar chit that a visitor managed to get a waiter to give out in 1936. It was originally designed as a woman’s drink – all pretty in pink – but today it’s slung back by anyone and everyone.
At first sip the Singapore Sling tastes like a strawberry milkshake – only made from juice. It’s very sweet and waaay too easy to sling back. But at $25 you’ll want to take it easy.
Raffles is an icon in Singapore. The Long Bar serves peanuts in their shells to all guests who sit at the tables and the etiquette is to eat them and throw the shells onto floor. It looks like a shambles in here! These days The Long Bar is more about a photo op with its colonial touches, décor and that famous drink. But when in Singapore, it’d be rude not to drop in, even just for that photo.
Here’s the Singapore Sling recipe – straight from Raffles:
30 ml Gin
15 ml Heering Cherry Liqueur
120 ml Pineapple Juice
15 ml Lime Juice
7.5 ml Cointreau
7.5 ml Dom Benedictine
10 ml Grenadine
Dash of Angostura Bitters
Garnish with Pineapple and a Cherry and sling back!
Grab this deal to Singapore!
Singapore Airlines and United Travel have put together a bunch of packages starting from $1829 for return flights from Auckland or Wellington and four nights accommodation. They also have extras you can add on like Breakfast at the Zoo, a dinner cruise on an Imperial Junk and City Tours. Click here for more information including great value stopover options.
And if you want to read my review of Singapore Airline’s double-decker A380, click here for the story and pics.
Tags: Singapore, Singapore Sling
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