The Raffles Singapore Sling Recipe

PBC Marketing | June 21, 2012

The Singapore Sling is internationally known, loved and respected. Unfortunately, it is also wrong in most recipe books. This means that there is a good chance that even if you had a Singapore Sling before, it probably wasn’t a “real” one.

The ingredient that is most commonly left out is the Benedictine. It doesn’t have an overbearing flavor when added to the mix but connoisseurs of the Singapore Sling will definitely notice when it isn’t included.

Singapore Sling Ingredients

Here’s the Raffles Singapore Sling recipe:

  • 1 1/2 ounce gin
  • 1/2 ounce Cherry Heering brandy
  • 1/4 ounce Cointreau
  • 1/4 ounce Benedictine
  • 4 ounces pineapple juice
  • 1/2 ounce lime juice
  • 1/3 ounce grenadine
  • a dash of bitters

These are shaken with ice and then strained into an ice filled Collins glass before being topped with a cherry and a slice of pineapple.

Singapore Sling History

While it is getting increasingly harder to find someone who was around for the invention of the Singapore Sling, those in the know say even the modern day Singapore version is still different from the original. None dispute the fact that the drink was created by Mr. Ngiam Tong Boon for the Raffles Hotel, but the year of creation is up for debate between 1913 and 1915.

Legend has it that the original recipe was lost and forgotten sometime in the 1930’s. Supposedly, the drink served today, even in the bar of the Raffles Hotel is based on the memories of former bartenders, passed down from generation to generation. Does this mean that it is now impossible to get a Singapore Sling as it was originally intended? Possibly, but this recipe is as authentic as the way they serve the drink in its own birthplace.

Funny Video: Drinking Singapore Sling at the Raffles

Check out the video below if you wanna see what drinking an original Raffles Singapore Sling in Singapore might be like 😉

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