Before I developed a taste for Old Fashioned, Singapore Sling used to be my favorite drink, so of course I had to visit Long Bar at Raffles Hotel, when I was in Singapore. If you don’t know, what I’m talking about, I can tell you that Long Bar is the place, where the bartender Ngiam Tong Boon created the world’s first Singapore Sling. That happened back in 1915, and my first visit to Long Bar was in 2015 when the drink celebrated its 100th anniversary.
After dinner, I walked over to Raffles Hotel, which was just a few blocks from my hotel. I was there rather early, so I got a seat in the bar immediately. “Singapore Sling?” asked the bartender, and I nodded. I’ve heard that they sometimes make big batches of Singapore Sling in advance, so I was happy to see that my drink was made to order. Though at that price (it was not cheap!), I think that’s the least you could expect.
Singapore is a very clean country and littering is strictly forbidden. You’re not allowed to bring chewing gum into the country, and I almost panicked, when I found an old piece of half-dissolved gum at the bottom of my purse. For a moment, I considered flushing it into the toilet. Though I didn’t want it to end up in the sea or somewhere else, where it shouldn’t be, so I silently smuggled it back with me, when I left the country. Regarding the littering, there’s one place in Singapore, where a controlled form of littering is allowed, and that’s at Long Bar.
The big bags of complimentary peanuts are lined up on the bar desk. After eating the nuts, you can throw the shells on the ground and feel like a real bad a*s. I threw some shells on the ground, but it felt awkward, so I focused on the drink instead. I’ve had a lot of really good and really bad Singapore Slings through the years. The one at Long Bar was definitely in the “really good” category. The fresh pineapple juice boosted the taste of the cherry brandy, and the drink was sweet and very delicious. Definitely worth a try.
Long Bar, Raffles Hotel, 1 Beach Road, Singapore
