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!