The Singapore Sling was created early in the twentieth century at the Long Bar of the Raffles Hotel, credited to a Hainanese bartender named Ngiam Tong Boon. The original recipe was not written down, and the version poured today was reconstructed decades later from memories and notes, which gives the drink the rare distinction of being both famous and slightly mysterious. It is pink, fruity and more complicated than it looks.

The pineapple juice, shaken hard, builds a soft foam on top, and the gin and herbal liqueur keep it from tasting like breakfast juice. Raise one at sunset on race day, when the circuit lights come on over Marina Bay.

The cocktail

Ingredients

• 1 oz (30 ml) London dry gin
• 1/2 oz (15 ml) cherry liqueur
• 1/4 oz (7.5 ml) orange liqueur
• 1/4 oz (7.5 ml) Bénédictine
• 4 oz (120 ml) pineapple juice
• 1/2 oz (15 ml) fresh lime juice
• 1/3 oz (10 ml) grenadine
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• ice cubes
• 1 pineapple wedge and a cocktail cherry

More from Singapore