Singapore Sling

Originating in Singapore, the Singapore Sling is a classic cocktail with tropical and refreshing elements that you're sure to enjoy. The Singapore Sling is relatively Gin forward but has plenty of fruit elements and herbal elements from the Benedictine.

This cocktail was developed in the early 1900's at the famous Raffles Hotel and has evolved over time. What hasn't changed is the fact that this is a wonderful and refreshing cocktail that's fun to make and fun to drink.

Get this classic on the menu.

Total Time 5

Servings 1 cocktail

Ingredients

30 mL Gin
30 mL Cherry Brandy
30 mL Benedictine
1 dash Angostura Bitters
60 mL Pineapple Juice
30 mL Lime Juice
Soda Water to top up
Garnish with a slice of pineapple and cherry

Instructions

Put Gin, Benedictine, and Bitters in a mixing glass in ice.
Stir until the glass feels cold.
Pour into a tall glass with fresh ice.
Add juice and gently stir.
Top up with Soda Water.
Garnish, serve.

Notes

This cocktail has more than a few ingredients to it, make sure you use the best ingredients you can find, as well as fresh juice, you'll create a much better drink that way.

The Singapore Sling is a very famous cocktail. We've thrown it into the general Tiki drink genre because it's popular in the wider style and appears on many Tiki bar menus. While this drink predates the main Tiki movement by a couple decades, given its complexity and appearance in Tiki bars, it definitely deserves a place in the style!

This cocktail has such a varied history and so many variations we're not even going to get into here. You've probably seen a different recipe for this drink, and that's fine.

Even More About the Singapore Sling

We have a fair bit more to say about this wonderful cocktail. Long drinks like the Singapore Sling are great because they provide plenty of liquid in them, meaning that they’re refreshing and thirst quenching, but they also pack a bit of a punch! And the Singapore Sling certainly packs a punch (but more on that later!). If you haven’t tried a Singapore Sling yet, well, what are you doing here? You can read this later. Go fix yourself one of these beverages then come back and read our opinions on it.

Can I make more than one Singapore Sling at once?

Yes, but it’s also possible to overcomplicate things by trying to make too many of these cocktails at the same time. The Singapore Sling is basically made in two steps: first you stir half the ingredients and pour those into a glass, then you add and stir the rest of the ingredients. So you could make the first part in bulk, but still need to finish things off in the glass.

Does pre-making the Singapore Sling work?

Kind of. You can pre-make the first part where you just mix together the Gin, Benedictine, and Bitters, but you don’t want to add the juice, and especially not the soda water, until you’re ready to serve the cocktail.

What’s the best time to have a Singapore Sling?

Well, if you want to have the completely authentic Singapore Sling experience, you want to try one of these at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. After all, this recipe was invented at the Raffles Hotel and it can be argued that the original is the best. We’re sure other people may argue that there are better versions of this cocktail elsewhere, but you’d have to imagine that Raffles Hotel takes pride in their Sling ability and strives to maintain their status.

Unfortunately not all of us can afford to go to Singapore or have drinks at a world famous luxury hotel. So, if you’re unable to do that, when else should you be having a Singapore Sling? For long drinks like this, we usually suggest them when some sort of refreshment is needed, and this is no exception. However, the Singapore Sling is a bit stronger than other long drinks you may have experienced. This doesn’t rule it out as a refreshment drink, but it’s just important to note so you don’t go to make when and gulp it down too quickly!

Is the Singapore Sling a strong cocktail?

We’re going to say yes. The Gin, Cherry Brandy, and Benedictine all have some strength to them, and combined, you’re looking at 90 mL liquor. That’s a fair amount… about 30 mL more than what you’d get in so many other cocktail recipes. Although this is all fairly well diluted with a similar amount of fruit juice, plus the Soda Water, it’s still just a lot of booze. You can dilute it all you want, but drinking one of these still has a good amount of alcohol in it. If you drink two Singapore Slings, you’ll really be feeling it!

So yes, we’d say the Singapore Sling is a strong cocktail. It’s not the strongest one out there of course, but you’re really starting to get into strong territory with it. Enjoy responsibly.

What kind of music goes well with the Singapore Sling?

We’re having trouble deciding on this one. What we’re leaning to is something classy and sophisticated. After all, the cocktail was invented at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. It’s a fancy luxury hotel! But we also wonder is what sort of music they play at the Long Bar at the hotel though. We, unfortunately have never had the opportunity to visit the iconic hotel in Singapore, so we don’t know what sort of music they play at their famous bar. A quick little bit of research suggests that they do have live music, but they don’t seem to have a preference for any specific style or genre. We’ve seen things ranging from Jazz to popular covers bands.

With all of that in mind, we think we’ll leave this one up to the house. Whatever the house wants to play to add atmosphere, that’s what they can play! You do you.