For our solstice dinner we decided we wanted a classic cocktail. I felt something tropical and sunny was called for to mark the shortest day and longest night of the year.
The Singapore sling is truly a classic, developed more than one hundred years ago in a hotel in Singapore. There are numerous variations on the basic recipe, apparently because the original bartender neglected to write down his recipe. The basic method is, of course, a variation on the larger theme of “gin and juice”, the basis of many tasty tipples.
We made a very straightforward sling — notably one that omits grenadine, as follows:
Mix ingredients over ice in your shaker and shake it like Stephen Fry. Strain into a tall, thin, pretty glass and garnish with a maraschino cherry and/or a lemon slice. (If you want to reduce the alcohol punch-in-the-mouth, dilute the cocktail with 1 to 2 ounces of club soda in the glass.)
The verdict: This recipe provides a nice balance of fruity and boozy. It’s well suited to a warm, sunny day — which we couldn’t muster on December 21 — so we’ll plan to try this one again, perhaps in June or July.
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