Singapore’s national cocktail, the Singapore Sling, is now truly Singaporean with the use of locally-made Brass Lion Gin at its heart.
Few cocktails are as deeply intertwined with a city’s identity as the Singapore Sling is with Singapore. This vividly-hued cocktail – comprising a mix of gin, cherry brandy, Bénédictine, Cointreau, pineapple juice, lime juice, and grenadine – was first invented in 1915 by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel as a way of disguising an alcoholic drink as an innocent fruit punch, so that women could enjoy a tipple in public without raising eyebrows.
In that sense, the Singapore Sling represented old world glamour, colonial-era indulgence, and a touch of cheeky rebellion.
But for over a century, there was one problem. Nothing in the cocktail was truly Singaporean, with only the pineapple juice offering a little taste of the tropics. The gin certainly wasn’t.
But that has just changed. In a historic move, Raffles Hotel Singapore has officially named Brass Lion Distillery’s Singapura Gin as the gin of the Singapore Sling at the Long Bar. This marks not only a new chapter for the iconic cocktail but also ushers in a new era for Singapore’s nascent but vibrant spirits industry.
For decades the Singapore Sling – a variation of the Gin Sling – at the Long Bar was made with imported gin usually in the London dry style. Most recently, it was Widges Gin. With Singapura Gin from the homegrown craft distillery, there finally is a real and direct connection to the Lion City.
While the actual botanical bill isn’t fully disclosed, according to Brass Lion the Singapura Gin has been distilled with mandarin peel, warm spices, and Southeast Asian botanicals, all of which pay homage to Singapore’s heritage and flavours. This gin is not part of the distillery’s core range and is currently exclusive to Long Bar in Raffles Hotel Singapore.
The Brass Lion-powered Singapore Sling is now being served exclusively at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel Singapore where the drink first made history. Guests can now enjoy a cocktail that doesn’t just tell the story of Singapore’s past, but also its exciting future in craft spirits.
“When we first started Brass Lion Distillery, this was one of the dreams we set our sights on — a dream that kept us motivated as we built the brand from scratch. It’s surreal to see this vision finally take shape,” says Jamie Koh, founder of Brass Lion Distillery. “Having a Singapore-made gin in the Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel is a moment of national pride. It’s a celebration of our heritage, our craftsmanship, and our dedication to sharing a taste of home with the world. This is just the beginning.”
All in all, this isn’t just a new gin in an old drink. It’s a symbol of how far Singapore’s cocktail culture has come. And if this is the future of the Singapore Sling, we’ll gladly raise a glass to that.
The late Ngiam Tong Boon, we’re sure, would approve.
[Photo credits: Brass Lion Distillery]
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