March Drink of the Month - The Singapore Sling

The Singapore Sling was one of the first "complicated" drinks that I ever learned to make. At the time, I had never heard of Cherry Heering or Benedictine, and so I spent way too much time online looking for acceptable substitutes that I may have had in my (then) tiny bar. I ended up making a cocktail that was little more than pineapple juice watered down with a little bit of gin, grenadine, and cheap cherry brandy (and as far as drinks go, it was stunningly mediocre). However, my interest was piqued and soon I decided that creating an acceptable Singapore Sling would be one of my first true bartending challenges.

The Singapore Sling comes to us from the Raffles Hotel in (you guessed it) Singapore, and it was first mixed in the mid-1910s. The term "sling" refers to any drink combining alcohol, fruit flavors, sugar, and water. Originally, bitters were required for a drink to be considered a cocktail, so other terms such as "sling," "fizz," and "flip" were used to denote the specific ingredients of the beverage.

The Singapore Sling is a "long" drink - which means that it contains significantly more liquid volume than a "short" drink. Note, however, that this does not necessarily mean that long drinks contain more alcohol - long drinks usually have similar alcohol content to short drinks, but the greater overall volume means that the drink is more diluted. The obvious exception to the rule here would be something like a Long Island Iced Tea. While you may serve a short drink in a rocks glass or a lowball glass, long drinks are almost exclusively served in highball (Collins) or hurricane glasses.


The key ingredients of the Singapore Sling are gin, citrus juice, and cherry flavoring, but many different recipes exist. While the IBA has a preferred recipe for the cocktail, almost every bar makes this drink their own way. The first bartending book I ever used suggested 5 oz of pineapple juice, which is way too much. I've also seen modern recipes that include zero pineapple juice. To each their own, I suppose. Below, I've included two possibilities for creating the Singapore Sling. Why not try them both out and let me know which you like?

Singapore Sling - Pineapple Heavy Recipe
In a blender, combine:
1 oz dry gin
1 oz Benedictine*
3/4 oz cherry brandy (Cherry Heering is preferable)
1/2 oz grenadine (use homemade if possible!)
1/2 oz Cointreau
1 oz fresh lime juice
4 oz fresh pineapple juice

Blend until pineapple juice creates "frothy" top. Pour into hurricane glass with ice cubes. Top with 2 dashes of Angostura bitters or float 1/2 oz of sloe gin on top using a bar spoon.

Singapore Sling - Light on the Pineapple
In a cocktail shaker, combine:
1 oz dry gin
1 oz Benedictine*
1 oz cherry brandy (Cherry Heering is preferable)
3/4 oz Cointreau
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1 oz fresh pineapple juice

Shake over ice and strain into a highball (Collins) glass filled with ice cubes. Top with 2 oz of soda water and 2 dashes of orange bitters.

*Benedictine (despite the name) is not made by monks (bummer, right?). It is, however, a fantastic French herbal liqueur. It is often sold pre-mixed with brandy as "B&B." It is well worth investing in a bottle of Benedictine - it is an amazing after-dinner sipper, combining sweetness with herbal complexity. However, if you need to cut corners, use brandy here in a pinch, or yellow Chartreuse if you have that lying around for some reason (but at $60 a bottle, I'd just go buy the Benedictine instead of wasting the Chartreuse).

Enjoy your Singapore Sling!

Valentine's Day Special - Fun with Aperol

Since today is Valentine's Day, there is a felt need for creating and giving that special someone a pink drink. While I support this trend, please resist the temptation to buy UV Pink or some other noxious, flavored vodka in order to make your significant other rose-colored cocktails. There are so many better options, including our topic for discussion today: Aperol. Aperol is a orange/red Italian liqueur, very similar to Campari, with a flavor profile that includes bitter orange and rhubarb. While Campari can be quite bitter, which is a turn off for some people, Aperol has a much sweeter profile and mixes well with other spirits, particularly gin, rye, and bourbon, as well as sparkling wine. Here are a couple of easy Aperol drinks that you might consider trying tonight:

The Veronica Rose

To do this drink properly, the fine folks at Imbibe Magazine recommend making your own rose-infused simple syrup. That is a process that takes a little bit of time, however, so here at Bar Kiley, we've come up with a palatable work-around. Here's the recipe for this bubbly, sweet sipper:

In a mixing glass, combine:

1/2 oz Aperol

1/2 oz simple syrup

2 dashes rose water

2 dashes orange bitters

Stir with ice to combine, strain into a champagne flute. Add 3-4 oz champagne to top off the glass and serve.

Buongiorno

This drink comes from friends of ours in Chicago, and it is quite excellent. Made properly this drink calls for St. George Terroir Gin and Bergamot simple syrup. Here at Bar Kiley, those ingredients fall a little outside our price range (what with the reality of being a graduate student and all). However, this adjusted recipe still tastes great and brings out the Aperol flavor very nicely, even if you lose out a little bit on the full flavor profile:

In a mixing glass, combine:

1 oz dry gin*

1 oz Aperol

1 oz lemon juice

1 oz simple syrup

1 egg white

Dry shake for 7-10 seconds to allow the egg to emulsify, then add ice and shake for 10-15 seconds. Strain and serve in a coupe glass. Add 2-3 dashes of bitters (orange bitters work well with the flavor profile, but you can never go wromg with classic Angostura) on top of the egg white foam - if you have a dropper, you can even make cool shapes!

*If you have some spare time on your hands, you may wish to try this recipe with a Bar Kiley tweak. Instead of gin, we used Blood Orange infused vodka and really enjoyed the result. To make the specialty vodka, steep the peels of 4-6 blood oranges (with all the pith removed) in 750 ml of vodka for a week, along with the juice of two of the oranges. Double strain the liquid through cheese cloth, and then it is ready to serve. The resulting liquor is a little bitter, but with a fantastic blood orange flavor profile.

Enjoy and Happy Valentines Day!