Any time I'm in Singapore, I like to stop by the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel for a Singapore Sling. This cocktail, invented here around 1910, is iconic to lovers of tropical drinks. This trip, I had an epiphany: These are terrible. Specifically, they taste like they are built on a Koolaid base. And they probably are.
I can't claim that my recipe is traditional or true, but I think it tastes a lot better than what you'll get at the Long Bar:
1/4 shot Benedictine
1/4 shot Cointreau
1/2 shot Cherry Heering
1 shot Gin
Squeeze of lime (1/4-1/2 lime)
Pineapple juice and ice to fill an highball glass
Shake and garnish with pineapple slice and cherry.
The bitter herbal gin and the sweet and sour fruit juices and liqueurs are the obvious stars in this drink, but it's the Benedictine that ties it together, with a rich deep mystery.
My research indicates that early recipes (pre-1970?) used soda instead of fruit juice. Sorry, I prefer fruit. However, inferior fruit juice is almost certainly the problem at the Long Bar. Maybe they should go back to soda.
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2 comments:
Hey Bev, since you're mentioning pre-1940 recipes, can you suggest any sources for [1] classic recipes and for [2] the liquid answer to inovators like El Bulli/Fatduck?
I have several goals in mind: [1] to be able to make all the basic drinks; [2] to be able to improvise with whatever is on hand; [3] to be able to get a drink from a bartender with a 2-digit IQ; and [4] to be able to invent something good new when I'm at a bar with lots of fun ingredients and a cooperative bartender. If you're not the specialist for who can get me started on these tasks, I don't know who is. Also, if you have comments on this guy'd, I'd be interested: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/28/dining/28tiki.html
- Deedub
I think you can find the El Bulli of cocktails here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/10/dining/10drin.html
But your questions are food for thought, and grounds for further writing.
Thanks, DW!
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