It’s hard not to be dazzled by Singapore. A unique city-state-island, where you can feel like on the set of the movie Avatar. The story of this place is fascinating, built on an island that no one wanted, without natural resources. And yet you can. Over the decades, the forgotten island has become the world’s fourth largest economy. It turned out that it is equally effective to build economic power using the power of international finance. In Singapore you will feel safe and exclusive. I haven’t seen many such clean cities in the world.
There are a lot of exclusive places in Singapore, but definitely one of the top is Hotel Raffles. Maybe I will not persuade you to spend a holiday in this hotel (although it is beautiful), but it is worth visiting the hotel bar called Long Bar for a moment (because the bar counter stretches for 12 meters). In this bar, the most famous drink of Singapore was born – Singapore Sling. It was a year no earlier than 1915, and the father of the most famous drink was the Chinese bartender Ngiam Tong Boon. The drink made on the basis of gin and cherry brandy apparently had no equivalent in the world at that time. The composition of the drink in different places of the world underwent various metamorphoses, but finally the ingredients and proportions were established in the 80s of the twentieth century. The first documented proportions of the drink can be found in the Savoy Cocktail Book from 1930 and are as follows:
1/4 lemon juice
1/4 dry gin
1/2 cherry brandy
Well shaken, not confused! served in a medium-sized glass, topped up with soda. Plus 1 ice cube.
The drink’s career was so stunning that it became Singapore’s national drink. And where did it come from and why did it make such an exclusive career? Imagine an exclusivewhite bungalow hotel immersed in tropical greenery. At the bar sit gentlemen in well-tailored suits, slowly sipping whiskey and smoking cigars. It is the local elite, the beginning of Singapore’s financial power. Unfortunately, in the 30s, women were not allowed to consume alcohol in public places, so they had to seek satisfaction in teas and fruit juices. Clever and undoubtedly sympathetic bartender Ngiam Tong Boon created a drink that looks like a fruit cocktail and hides quite a “power” mix of gin and liqueurs for the capabilities of distinguished ladies. The pink drink effectively deterred men, so the ladies could enjoy the sinful charm of Sling for quite a long time…
It is worth mentioning that Ngiam Tong Boon was also the author of the Million Dollar Drink. The record holder, Danish archaeologist, Professor Pieter van Stein Callenfels, was able to drink 10 Slings in one visit to a bar. Today you will find it in many bars around the world, and certainly it is still served on board of Singapore Airline. I tried the version from the booth on the Singapore street and the original from Long Bar. How was it? Try it yourself…
If you are not planning a visit to Singapore, I will suggest that you can try a variety of the legendary drink in Warsaw in the former Europejski Hotel. After the metamorphosis, the hotel was included in the prestigious Raffles chain (there are only 12 hotels of this chain in the world) and has its own Long Bar. Warsaw Sling is inspired by the older brother from Singapore, but also sounds delicious:
- 40 ml of gin
- 80 ml of pineapple juice
- 20 ml of quince tincture
- 10 ml of gingerbread liqueur
- 20 ml of lemon juice
- 2 d. Cherry bitters
Served as: Karol Onyszko, Long Bar Manager at Raffles Europejski Warsaw Hotel
And for those who plan to visit Long Bar in Singapore, a few tips:
- reserve more time, you can wait for a table in Long Bar. The queue to enter is not an unusual phenomenon
- do not be surprised by the view of the floor strewn with peanut shells, on each table there is a peanut’s waiting box. Drinks are a bit waiting, and shells are thrown on the floor
- you drank – do not drive! Therefore, it is worth ordering a taxi at the entrance to the hotel. You can wait a bit, but opening the door by hotel staff dressed in regional costumes will allow you to feel like a Persian princess for a moment
Below are other recipes for Singapore Sling:
- 19 gr of gin
- 6,5 gr Benedictine
- 6.5 gr Grand Marnier
- 6.5 gr of Herring cherry liqueur
- 26 gr of pineapple juice
- 13 gr of lime juice, freshly squeezed
- one drop of bitter Angostura
- a little chilled soda on top
- orange slice for decoration and cherry
Mix in a shaker with ice, well cooled ingredients. At the bottom of a long glass we put an ice cube and pour the contents from the shaker. On top we add a soda depot. Garnish with a slice of orange and cherry.
At the end of this text, a warm THANK YOU to my daughter Zuzanna. Thank you Baby for your discovery and for dragging me to the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel. Your power of persuasion is great, neither the monsoon rain nor the queue nor the long wait on the taxi defeated us. It was worth it! Thank you!!