The Singapore Sling

When we had been married about 10 years, Ivan took a transfer to Singapore with Hewlett Packard. Initially, this was to last 18 months but ended up being approximately 3 years. While this was difficult in many ways, HP flew me over to visit every three months and Starkey let me work in Singapore as well.  Each trip to Singapore, we would split the time doing things in Singapore and exploring the region-Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.  On one of the very first trips, Ivan took me to the Raffles Hotel to have a Singapore Sling at their famous Long Bar.  The hotel is currently under renovation but has been in existence since 1887.  The drink was created approximately in 1915 and has had several changes to the recipe of the years. It’s current ingredients include:

3 cl Gin

1.5 cl Cherry Liqueur (cherry brandy)

0.75 cl Cointreau

0.75 cl DOM Bénédictine

1 cl Grenadine

12 cl Pineapple juice

1.5 cl Fresh lime juice

1 dash Angostura bitters

I made one more trip to this famous bar on my way to Cambodia with my friend Diane.  All I really remember was how HOT it was outside and how great the drink tasted.  This time, Ivan and I brought Elena….