Singapore Sling (Raffles Hotel)

Per David Embury in The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks (1948): “Of all the recipes published for this drink, I have never seen any two that were alike.” 80 years later, this problem has only gotten worse.

The Singapore Sling recipe as it’s currently served in Raffles Hotel in Singapore, where the cocktail was created. It’s also the IBA’s (International Bartenders Association) version of this recipe.

We have a slightly different version of this recipe which features less pineapple juice, as well as the one served at Smuggler's Cove.

The Singapore Sling was created between 1899 and 1915 by Ngiam Tong Boon, a Chinese-born bartender who worked at the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore.

The Raffles Hotel was created in 1887 by the Sarkies brothers, a group of Armenian hoteliers who founded several luxury hotels throughout Southeast Asia.

The hotel started as a privately owned beach house built in the early 1830s. In 1887 it was renamed after Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, a British statesman who became the founder of modern Singapore.

The Singapore Sling predates the Tiki movement but it’s usually associated with it because it was part of the menu at both Don the Beachcomber’s and Trader Vic’s restaurants and recipe books. Don the Beachcomber and Trade Vic are the two most prominent names from early Tiki culture.

Per David Wondrich, the sling is a type of cocktail created in the early 1800s in the United States - it involves mixing sugar, water and spirits. The template was expanded on by British bartenders who took it to different parts of the world, including the bustling trading port of Singapore.

Early versions of the Singapore Sling may have also been referred to as the Straits Sling. The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories in Southeast Asia which included Singapore. The colony was dissolved following the Second World War and most territories in it now form part of Malaysia.