The Raffles Hotel opened in 1887, named after Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore. Since then, it has been the place for politicians, movie stars and other interesting characters from around the world. In 1915, The Long Bar was established as the “american bar” of the hotel, and came to fame because here the Singapore Sling cocktail was invented.
It seems that it all started with a local bartender named Ngiam Tong Boon. In the early 1900’s, cocktails were gaining popularity in Asia, especially in settings like hotel bars, but it was a men thing, with women drinking tea and fruit juices. In 1915, the smart bartender of the Long Bar had an idea: to use clear alcohol and mask it with pink juice to make it socially acceptable. From there, the drink immediately took off, and female customers were happy.
Even if we all agree that the Singapore Sling should contain gin, pineapple juice, lime juice, curaçao and Bénédictine, how to mix a Singapore Sling is debated, because the original recipe was lost after the 1930s when the hotel stopped serving the drink following Japanese occupation of Singapore, while the current hotel’s recipe was recreated based on a 1936 note by a customer. The Long Bar at Raffles Hotel sells 800-1200 Singapore slings every day… To hear the story from the voice of a “resident historian” of the hotel (!!), watch this video, to read the full story of the drink read this article.
I have not been to the Long Bar yet, but some fellow barflies tell me that, despite the cost of the cocktails (today for a Singapore Sling you pay some 35 US dollars), it is absolutely worth the experience, also to see the shaking machine here below in action. On my list!
The Martini Hour 