We Tested 5 Singapore Sling Recipes: The Original Was the Best

I have a long history with the Singapore Sling.

Years ago, I posted on my bucket list that I wanted to visit the Raffles Hotel in Singapore, and have a Singapore Sling.

As it turns out, a few years later on a trip to China I had a 12 hour layover in Singapore.

I arrived at 4pm, and had to be back at the airport at 4am to catch my flight.

Fortunately, I a member of my online business community Location Rebel Academy lived there and offered to show me around.

We hit all the hot spots like the Marina Bay Sands, hawker stands, and of course the Raffles.

We splurged and had not one, but two of the $26 signature Singapore Slings. 

I posted a photo of it a few days later to which someone replied “Ummmm, that’s not the Long Bar.”

It turns out, we ended up in the “Atrium Bar” which is not the storied home of peanut shells on the floor, and the birthplace of the original Singapore Sling cocktail

Damn. Guess I’ll have to go back.

A couple years later we ended up having a 24 layover on our honeymoon to the Maldives, in you guessed it, Singapore.

While other mistakes were made, we did make it to the correct bar this time:

The Best Singapore Sling Recipe

Since that fateful trip, we’ve made it a quest to visit the top 100 bars in the world. 

We’ve tasted some of the best cocktails the world has to offer, and honestly? The Singapore Sling always felt a bit overrated. 

Don’t get me wrong, it’s good, but I began to wonder if other people could do it better.

The other night I was making an Asian dinner, and was trying to think of a good cocktail to go with it.

Ah, the Singapore Sling! I’d never made one at home before, so figured this was the perfect opportunity.

But considering there are quite a few ingredients, I had a feeling that many of the top 100 bars we’d frequented would have their own recipes.

So rather than just make one, we made 5, to figure out which Singapore Sling recipe really did taste the best.

To do the test, we made:

• The Original Singapore Sling Recipe
• Smugglers Cove Singapore Sling
• Canon’s Starlet Sling
• Death and Co’s Singapore Sling
• Jim Meehan‘s Singapore Sling

Some of them, like Jim’s and Death and Co’s were very similar to the original.

Others, like Smugglers Cove and Canon put their own spin on it.

But does different mean better?

Honestly, in this case the answer is no.

We found the original Sling to be substantially better than both the Canon and Smuggler’s Cove versions.

The Smuggler’s Cove one wasn’t bad. It had some unique flavors, but generally felt like a different drink.

The Canon Starlet Sling, which they boldly proclaim as being “better than the original” in the book, was frankly, just not good.

It didn’t have the right balance of sweetness to balance out the tart. I’ve made a few cocktails from the Canon book, and with the exception of the Union Club, have been disappointed each time.

The original, Death and Co, and Jim Meehan versions were all almost identical with one key difference: pineapple juice.

The original has 4 ounces, while Death and Jim have 2 and 1.5oz respectively.

So this comes down to personal preference. I liked the original simply due to the fact it gave you more to drink and it lasted a longer time.

But Jim’s with just 1.5oz of pineapple felt more complex, and allowed you to taste more of the ingredients in the drink.

Below I’m including the original recipe. These 3 were all very good, and frankly, better than I remember it being from when I was at the Raffles. So adjust pineapple to your taste, and have fun!

Singapore Sling Ingredients

The Singapore Sling is an easy cocktail to make, it just has quite a few ingredients you’ll need to make sure to have on hand before you begin mixing.

For a traditional Singapore Sling, you’ll need:

• 1.5 oz of London Dry Gin
• .5 oz Cherry Heering
• .25oz Cointreau
• .25oz Benedictine
• 4oz pineapple juice
• .5oz Lime Juice
• .33oz grenadine
• Dash of bitters

Simply combine all of the ingredients into a shaker, and strain into a Collins glass over ice.

Voila! You’ve made yourself a Singapore Sling!

Other Related Posts

• Lost Lake Cocktail – Looking for another similar-style drink? Try the Lost Lake.
• Best Bars in Singapore – Traveling to Singapore and want to know where else to drink? These spots blow the Raffles away.
• St. Regis Singapore Review – Need someplace nice to stay? The St. Regis Singapore is about as opulent as it gets.