There may be no drink more tied to one room than the Singapore Sling is to the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel. Visitors queue to sit under the palm-leaf fans, crack peanut shells onto the floor, and order a tall pink drink that tastes nothing like its plain name. Most people don’t know the drink’s history is much messier than the menu suggests.
What Raffles Actually Serves
The hotel publishes its recipe, and it’s more complex than you’d think: gin, Cherry Heering, Cointreau, Bénédictine, pineapple juice, lime juice, grenadine and a dash of Angostura bitters. Pineapple is the main ingredient by volume. When it’s shaken hard it foams, which is why a proper Long Bar sling has a soft pink cap.
Raffles credits the drink to Ngiam Tong Boon, a Hainanese bartender at the Long Bar, and dates it to around 1915. The hotel’s story is that he made it as a socially acceptable ‘pink’ drink for women, who weren’t supposed to be seen drinking in public at the time.
The Disputed Part
Be skeptical of that tidy story. Cocktail historians point out three problems. First, gin slings — gin, sugar, water, sometimes citrus — were common across the British colonial world long before 1915. Second, the original Raffles recipe was lost; the hotel’s own account says its modern recipe was reconstructed from memory and notes from former staff. Third, the earliest printed Singapore Sling recipes describe a much simpler drink — mostly gin, cherry liqueur, lemon and soda — with no pineapple.
So the honest summary is that Raffles has made the drink famous and serves a well-defined house spec, but no one can prove that spec matches what Ngiam Tong Boon poured. This copycat follows the published Raffles recipe because that’s what you get at the Long Bar today.
Why Copycats Go Wrong
Most home versions make three mistakes:
- Using kirsch for the ‘cherry brandy.’ The drink needs the rich sweetness of a cherry liqueur like Heering. Clear kirsch makes it sharp and hot.
- Skipping the Bénédictine and Cointreau. These are only a quarter-ounce each, but they turn a pineapple punch into a layered drink.
- Shaking too gently. The foam is the visual signature, and it only appears after a long, hard shake.
Overdoing the grenadine is the fourth mistake. A third of an ounce is enough for color; more turns the drink syrupy.
Getting the Foam
Pineapple juice contains proteins that hold air when shaken, much like egg white. Shake for a full 15 seconds with plenty of ice, then strain into a glass of fresh ice. Wait about 10 seconds and the foam settles into a clean pink layer. Fresh-pressed pineapple foams best; canned works, but its foam fades faster.
Batching for a Crowd
The Sling batches well because none of its ingredients are carbonated. Mix a large jug (quantities are in the FAQ), refrigerate it, then shake each glass with ice right before serving to get the foam back. If you need to skip shaking, stir the batch with ice in a pitcher and accept a flatter drink.
The Mocktail: Long Bar Cooler
What makes the alcohol-free version work is tart cherry juice. It has the dark-fruit depth of Heering without the sweetness. Two drops of orange flower water and a strip of orange zest suggest the Cointreau and herbal Bénédictine. Shake it hard with the pineapple and lime and you get the same pink foam. A splash of soda adds lift.
Visiting the Long Bar
If you’re planning to visit, go mid-afternoon to avoid the longest queues. Some visitors report that at peak times the bar pours from a pre-mixed batch; asking for a freshly shaken one is a reasonable request. Expect to pay hotel-bar prices, with service charge and tax added.
Enjoy responsibly — must be 21+.
