Singapore Sling
Singapore Sling is a South-East Asian cocktail that was invented in the early 1900’s by Ngiam Tong Boon, a bartender working at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel Singapore. Originally made with Gin, Cherry Heering, Bénédictine, and fresh pineapple juice, primarily from regional pineapples which have a different flavor and when shaken create a foamy top on the drink. While you don’t need fresh pineapple juice using 100% juice that is not canned gives this drink a much better taste. If you want to go all out the flavor of fresh pineapple is easy to make if you have a juicer. Most readily available pineapples are from Dole from Hawaii and are still very good but if you are a purist you can look for Sarawak pineapples which may be available at specialty produce houses or grocery stores like Fresh Market or Whole Foods.
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Rum Runner
Legend has it, Rum Runners were invented in the late 1950’s at the Holiday Isle Tiki Bar in Islamorada, Florida. Supposedly, the bar had an excess of rum and certain liqueurs, hence all the somewhat bizarre number of liqueurs that are included in almost any recipe out there for a Rum Runner, that needed to be gotten rid of to make room in the liquor closet. They named the drink after the real “Rum Runners” that inhabited the Florida Keys in the early days running Rum in from Cuba and the islands. Many changes are made as the Rum Runner passed through time. Most recipes are altered by using different amounts of the same ingredients. Sometimes an ingredient may be substituted or changed and the recipe will remain intact. The only ingredient that remains sacred is of course the Rum.
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Planters Punch
Planters Punch is today considered not a specific cocktail, but rather has grown as the generic name for a set of rum-based punches. Recipes vary, containing some combination of lemon juice, pineapple juice, lime juice, orange juice, grenadine, soda water, curaçao, Angostura bitters, and cayenne pepper. Another one of the drinks popularized by Trader Vic’s as part of the Tiki bar explosion. The first mention of the drink is in the late 1800’s and again in 1905. It gained popularity in the 50’s and 60’s as the tropical drink craze swept the US. Our recipe has all the standard ingredients but there are many variations on this theme. This is a drink you can play around with, more pineapple or less… It really is a matter of taste.
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