The Cricket Club Gin Sling, Singapore 1913
Reader ratingsGin, cherry brandy, Bénédictine and lime juice in equal parts, with bitters, ice and water: the gin sling two members ordered at the Singapore Cricket Club in 1913.
- Recipe makes
- 1 tall drink, about 180 ml
- Prep
- Total
The 1913 Cricket Club gin sling in a tall glass over ice, with a jug of water and a lime, on a veranda table.
The story behind the recipe
Gin, cherry brandy, Bénédictine and lime juice, one of each, with ice, water and a few dashes of bitters: that is the gin sling two members ordered at the Singapore Cricket Club in September 1913, as the Weekly Sun reported. It is the earliest Singapore recipe for the drink we have found, nine years before London printed a “Straits Sling.” The earliest bar book we have found that calls a drink the Singapore Sling is the Savoy Cocktail Book of 1930.
A really decent Sling
The club had been teased that summer for not serving gin slings, then Malaya’s “undisputed favourite,” according to the Straits Times. On September 20 the Weekly Sun reported: “They walked into the S. C. C. and ordered, one Cherry Brandy, one Domb, one Gin, one Lime Juice, some Ice and water, a few dashes of Bitters—and then enjoyed a really decent Sling.” “Domb” is D.O.M., the letters on the Bénédictine bottle. How the drink went from a plain gin sling to this, and where the Raffles story fits, is in What Did People Drink in Old Singapore?
Read more about this recipe
Our version
We read each “one” as one measure, 30 ml, and give “a few dashes” of bitters as two dashes of Angostura; the paper names no brand. “Some Ice and water” becomes ice cubes and 60 ml of cold water, our amount. The drink is built in the glass and stirred; the paper doesn’t say it was shaken. The report says nothing about taste beyond “really decent.” It comes out at about 15% ABV, so it is a strong long drink. For the plainer gin sling of 1862, gin, sugar and water with nutmeg, the old bar recipe is told in the story. For another gin and lime drink of the same era, try The Gimlet as MacElhone Printed It (1923).
It is possible now to get a Gin Sling at the Cricket Club, as two members found out a few days ago. They walked into the S. C. C. and ordered, one Cherry Brandy, one Domb, one Gin, one Lime Juice, some Ice and water, a few dashes of Bitters—and then enjoyed a really decent Sling.
Recipe makes: 1 tall drink, about 180 ml
Ingredients
For 1 tall drink, about 180 ml. Quantities are shown as written.
Quantities as written here, for 1 tall drink, about 180 ml.
- Gin30 ml
- Cherry brandy30 ml
- Bénédictine30 ml
- Fresh lime juice30 ml
- Angostura bitters2 dashes
- Ice cubes
- Cold water60 ml
Measurement notes
Ingredients as written here
- 30 ml gin
- 30 ml cherry brandy
- 30 ml Bénédictine
- 30 ml fresh lime juice
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
- Ice cubes
- 60 ml cold water
Equipment
Tall tumbler- Measuring jigger
Bar spoon
Instructions
Fill the tall tumbler with ice cubes.
Pour in the gin, cherry brandy, Bénédictine and fresh lime juice.
Add the Angostura bitters and the cold water, and stir well with the bar spoon until the glass is cold.
Nutrition
270calories per serving
- Recipe makes
- 1 tall drink, about 180 ml
Estimated from USDA FoodData Central values for gin, cherry liqueur, herbal liqueur and lime juice; bitters and water add almost nothing.
Recipe notes
Notes
Quantities mentioned in these notes don’t change when you adjust the batch.
Cherry brandy here means a cherry liqueur, sweet and dark red, not an unsweetened cherry eau-de-vie.
For the 1922 London “Straits Sling,” Vermeire used lemon instead of lime, more gin than liqueur, orange bitters with the Angostura, and soda water instead of plain water.
Two years later the Singapore Free Press printed a hot-weather drink with no gin, the Pineapple Cup with Rock Sugar.
Scaling changes the ingredients only; glassware, ice and timings need their own judgment. To adapt this recipe further, try the recipe tool at TuneMyRecipe (opens in a new tab), our sister site.
Sources and attribution
“More About Gin Slings,” Weekly Sun (Singapore), September 20, 1913, p. 7, NewspaperSG, National Library Board
Recipe details
- Drink family
- Cocktails & Mixed Drinks
- Region
- Singaporean
- Source decade
- 1910s
- Base
- Gin
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Season
- Summer