According to Raffles the Singapore sling was invented in 1915 by their head bartender Ngiam Tong Boon. However there are countless stories questioning if the version served today is the original version or if indeed the Raffles version is a true sling? but I was not going to loose sleep over this I just wanted to enjoy the legendary drink in the legendary bar ( by the way the original long bar is not where it is now, but that's another long story )
I wasn't going to let my dreams of sitting where Hemingway, Noel Coward and Rudyard Kipling to name a few sat sipping the sling be marred by these little discrepancies!
I have also read Ngiam Tong Boon invented this pretty pink drink to encourage women to drink with men. Whether this is true or not ? I love this idea.
The hotel itself is beautiful, very colonial in design. Your left in no doubt this would have been the place to stay and be seen by the the upper class British colonials in it's day.
The long bar is designed in the style of a 1920's plantation. Slow moving mechanical fans wafting above your head are mesmerising to watch, the atmosphere had a great buzz feel to it. That said it is a bit of a tourist trap and unfortunately the drinks are pre-mixed but this is no surprise, and expected they sell over 1000 a day !
I also loved the little boxes on the tables filled to the brim with monkey nuts, the tradition is to eat the nuts and throw the empty shells on the floor, a strange tradition when littering in Singapore is heavily finned! But great fun.
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