The Long Bar is a time capsule at the newly restored Raffles Hotel - all dark teak wood, reed ceiling fans and peanut shells on the floor (the last tradition goes against the grain in this spick-and-span city). It’s also the home of the Singapore sling: hotel lore says it was created in 1915 by barman Ngiam Tong Boon, though cocktail sleuths have found holes in this origin story. The likes of Somerset Maugham enjoyed simpler drinks known as ‘gin slings’, often sweetened with cherry brandy, soured with lime or spiked with Bénédictine. Though pineapple is a much-loved fruit in the region, its addition (indeed domination) owes more to the later tiki culture craze than colonial-era tastes.
PHOTOGRAPH: RAFFLES HOTEL SINGAPORE
MAKE IT
INGREDIENTS
30 ml gin