Where Can You Drink Singapore Sling
Singapore's Singapore Sling is a world famous pink drink, a cocktail. It is the obvious drink to ask for if you visit the huge Raffles hotel where it was invented. Long ago I went there for a birthday and bought a magnet with the Singapore Sling recipe which sits on the wall in my kitchen in London. You can ask for Singapore Sling on Singapore Airlines, as I did flying from Heathrow in London to Singapore in September 2022. But now there's a new twist. A new variation. A novelty in presentation. The Mount Faber Singapore Sling.
I tried it at the ProWine show in Singapore. (It's a trade only show, but a few keen drinkers, and wine tasting enthusiasts had heard about it and had signed up and signed in. The show also has dates in Hong Kong and around the world every year, if you want to plan a trip to one far away or near. One of the attractions is the Tastings where you get to try a novelty, or compare several drinks and find your favourite.
Singapore Sling Drink Colours
Red? I often hear that Chinese and Singaporean men prefer red drinks which symbolise masculine power.
White? As a well-dressed woman, on a fun, romantic evening out, I go for white drinks which are less likely to stain my clothes.
Pink? Pink for drink is the spring and summer favourite, for dining outdoors, matching smoked salmon starters and salmon and white fish main courses.
Singapore Sling Size
A Singapore sling in a big glass looks like more for your money. A longer drink might last at lunch time until your sweet dessert. Americans, business people, don't drink at lunch time, as they want to stay awake and alert through the afternoon. Hence the tradition of drinks after six pm.
What's In Your Drink?
The original Singapore Sling was known as a gin sling. Gin and tonic I thought was a guard against malaria, the bitterness preventing bites, but my husband tells me that tonic was a cure, from tree bark, bitter, and the gin disguised the taste and made you happier.
Then some smart person thought up the alliterative combination of words, Singapore Sling.
Recipes
Recipes vary. Every business, bar-tender and home cocktail maker has a choice.
1 Follow the old recipe efficiently but be sure to stock fresh ingredients.
2 Buy it ready mixed in a bottle from the supermarket or wholesaler. In the tropics, fresh fruit is cheap. At home, add fresh fruit, if nothing else, as a garnish.
3 Get creative with garnish.
Do you want a strong drink for an aperitif, or something less alcoholic so you can be safer walking or driving home? If you are sitting sipping, taking a taxi home, or to your hotel, being tipsy is less of a consideration.
Sweet Drinks
Sweet drinks have less alcoholic content. Less sugar from fruit such as grapes is converted into alcohol.
But traditionally the color and sweet flavor often come from cherry brandy. Recently a happy marriage was made between a vineyard owner who had been considering uprooting his old, unwanted cherry trees, and the marketing department for two restaurants on Singapore's Mount Faber (where the eye-catching overhead sky cable cars go to the top of Mount Fabre, a clifftop on the South side of Singapore, overlooking the seaside Sentose island, crammed with tourist attractions). The result was a new drink.
Cherry
I tried a sample of the attractively presented Mount Fabre cocktail. The fresh red cherry decoration, was speared by a cocktail stick across the top of the glass like a reminder or the cable car.
Pierced Pineapple
The cherry was wrapped like a rosebud inside a piece of pineapple, another famous fruit ingredient of Singapore Slings.
Place Names - Singapore and Mount Faber
Residents of Singapore can order a Singapore Sling feeling patriotic. For the visitor, added attractions and souvenirs are a glass bearing the name Mount Fabre, and a cute little cable car on a detachable wire which has an end to loop and unloop around itself. To identify your glass (especially important with everybody so health and safety conscious in post-Covid-19 times.
The launch of the new drink took place on Monday September 5th 2022. A visit to Mount Faber, one day, is on my wish list.
ProWine Reminder
Pro-Wine is in Singapore, until 6 every day this week, Monday-Wednesday, and finishes early at 4 pm on Thursday. If you want to note next year's dates, 25-28th April, International Trade Fair for Wines and Spirits, in Singapore 2023.
Meanwhile, if in Singapore, try Mount Faber, Singapore Sling. Cheers!
Useful Websites
https://www.mountfaberleisure.com/attraction/mount-faber-peak/
https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Restaurants-g294265-zfn15622674-Singapore.html
