The Long Bar - Singapore

The Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel, Singapore is an iconic location and well worth a visit. Named after Sir Stanford Raffles - the founder of the modern island city state reminds the visitor of Singapore's colonial history. The grand style of the Raffles Hotel located in the centre of modern Singapore serves as a reminder of the age of elegance well aligned to Singapore's colonial history.

The Singapore Sling, invented at the Long Bar in the period around World War I is now pre-mixed at the bar and served production line style. Some would argue this modern mass produced version is an expensive rip-off - I would tend to agree. I only bought one drink at the bar, the price is outrageous - don't fall into the trap of purchasing a number of rounds only to pass out when the bill arrives. Of course, peanuts litter the floor, the ambiance is excellent though - worth a visit. 

I prefer a darker style drink than the one served at the Long Bar; firstly it is hand mixed containing 2 parts gin, 1 part cherry brandy, pineapple juice, lime juice and Cointreau. Some recipes include angostura bitters, grenadine syrup and benedictine liqueur - my personal preference though is the more basic drink. I am led to believe the wider Singaporean version is notably different to the Long Bar version, the drink is served throughout South East Asia and arguably better.