In the early days of the 20th Century, Raffles Hotel bartender Ngiam Tong Boon invented the pink cocktail as a way of getting the colonial ladies to drink with the men. The popularity of the ‘Singapore Sling’ spread throughout the world and soon everybody, women and men alike, were drinking the fruity concoction. And in the last few years, the old-time favourite seems to have made a bit of a comeback on the cocktail scene.

Singapore Airlines, for example, serves the drink on all its flights. The ‘Sling’ is a Hollywood celebrity as well; the beverage had a prominent – if not quite starring – role in Hunter S. Thompson’s ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’, in which Johnny Depp’s character Raoul Duke downed countless “Singapore Slings with mescal on the side”.

Meanwhile, to get yourself in the one-long-weekend mindset, mix yourself a ‘Sling’ and do this classic cocktail the honour of drinking it in a breezy garden setting – and imagine yourself relaxing on the Raffles Hotel patio. Enjoy!

Recipe of ‘Singapore Sling’ – Created at the Raffles Hotel

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
A Dash of Angostura Bitters
Garnish with a slice of Pineapple and Cherry

Photos: Raffles Hotel