Singapore is busy, bustling and booming, but beneath its glossy exterior there lies a rich colonial history. And nowhere oozes more history than at the world famous Raffles Hotel. Whirl back in time to the era of 1930s colonial glamour, and pull up a pew at the decadent Long Bar. The hotel might be posh, but it’s a popular tourist trap, and outsiders are most welcome to escape the heat and unwind with that infamous cocktail, the Singapore Sling.

Created at the turn of the 20th Century by a Chinese bartender, this is a cocktail that has so much alcohol it’s a surprise binge drinking wasn’t more heard of back in those days. With four different blends of spirits, it’s almost a triple measure by English standards, but somehow the combination of liquids blends together harmoniously to produce a flavoursome and fruity drink.

Sup your Sling in luxuriant surroundings and then pay a visit to the hotel’s museum, where you can see a fabulous assortment of trinkets, memos, photos, notes and artefacts that document the history of the hotel. You can even see the safe that the closely guarded recipe for the Singapore Sling was stored in. But the secret didn’t stay safe for long and today you’ll get a copy of the original Raffle’s recipe when you order your cocktail.

Singapore Sling recipe:

30ml Gin
15ml Heering Cherry Liqueur
120ml Pineapple Juice
15ml Lime Juice
7.5ml Cointreau
7.5ml Dom Benedictine
10ml Grenadine
A Dash of Angostura Bitters
Garnish with a slice of Pineapple and Cherry