Singapore Sling

The Singapore Sling is one of the best gin cocktails for tropical lovers! This is one of my go-to summer cocktails, and it's pretty easy to make, too. The hardest part is probably finding all of the right ingredients! But once you do, you'll want to sip on these cocktails all summer long!

With its fruit juice and refreshing flavor, this is a great cocktail for the summer months! It's perfect for beach or poolside drinks, and always a hit at parties.

Looking for more refreshing tropical sips with gin? Try out the Hibiscus Gin Cocktail, with vibrant pink hibiscus syrup. Or, the Tiki classic Saturn cocktail is such a good gin drink.

For some more tropical flavor, the Pineapple Whiskey Sour or the Pineapple Passion Rum Punch are both top notch!

To try a few more classic drinks with tropical flavors, the classic Jungle Bird (or this Rum & Rammazzotti riff), this tasty Mai Tai with mango, or the delicious classic Painkiller rum cocktail are all delicous.

Ingredients

The hardest part of this drink is probably getting all of the ingredients together! There are some specialty liqueurs here. I'd say it is worth investing in them if you can, since you only use a tiny amount so you'll be able to make lots of slings!

The more common ingredients you'll need are gin, an orange liqueur like Grand Marnier liqueur (or Triple Sec), Angostura bitters, pineapple juice and lime juice.

For the more unusual ingredients, you'll need Benedictine D.O.M. (also used in the Vieux Carré cocktail) and Cherry Heering liqueur (also used in the Cherry & Ginger rum cocktail).

Substitutions

There are a lot of flavors going on in this drink! If you need to make some ingredient substitutions, here are some ideas.

For the gin, you can use vodka or tequila blanco. Instead of the orange liqueur, you can use limoncello in its place.

For the lime juice, lemon juice works instead. And for the pineapple juice, try using orange juice (but add in an extra bit of the citrus juice since it's sweeter than pineapple).

The Benedictine and Cherry Heering are harder to sub out, but you can try using Drambuie or Amaro Nonino for the Benedictine. For the Cherry Heering, try using maraschino liqueur or kirsch (cherry brandy).

Variations

If you want to change up this cocktail, here are some ideas!

Firstly, if you want to make it a little more refreshing, top it off with an ounce or two of seltzer after straining it into your serving glass. Or, if you want to make it even sweeter, you can use a lemon-lime soda instead of seltzer.

If you want to make this drink less sweet, cut out the orange liqueur and add in a little more of the gin.

If you want to reduce the alcohol, you can use a gin substitute like Monday Zero alcohol gin, and use a grenadine syrup instead of the Cherry Heering.

Equipment

You'll need just a few basic bar tools to make this recipe! To get the foamy layer on top, you'll need to shake this drink in a cocktail shaker (the foam is from the pineapple juice).

You'll also need a jigger to measure the liquids, and a cocktail strainer if you don't have one built in to the shaker.

If you want to make the garnish as shown, you'll also need a cocktail pick or toothpick.

The cocktail glass I used is these: cute ribbed glasses with short stems. These glasses hold around 12 ounces, but you can use a smaller glass if you want to use less ice.

Instructions

If you're making the garnish, start by putting it together. Cut a slice of lime, and put your cocktail pick through one side of it.

Add a cocktail cherry to the pick, and then add the other side of the lime to the pick so it wraps around the cherry like a taco.

Then, add the pineapple wedge to the pick. Set the garnish aside while you make the drink.

Start making the drink by adding the lime juice to your cocktail shaker.

Add in the pineapple juice, the orange liqueur and the cocktail bitters.

Add in the Benedictine, Cherry Heering and gin.

Fill your shaker with ice, seal it up and give it about 15-20 good shakes.

Add fresh ice to your serving glass and strain the drink into the glass.

Place the garnish onto the glass rim, and serve!

Hint: You can just add the garnish to the top of the glass, or cut a slit into the pineapple wedge so it stays in place on the glass rim.

Top tip

This is a great drink to serve as a party punch! Just switch the ounce measurements to cups in order to make eight servings.