5 jet setter cocktails

May 3, 2018

As the first Food & Drink entry into Postcards from Hawaii, I’m sharing recipes for five cocktails inspired by my travels around, but in particular to Singapore, Hawaii, Brazil, Mexico and France. From sweet game-changer classics such as the Singapore Sling, to bitter eye-openers like a Caipirinha, there’s a drink here for every intoxicated mood.

Each recipe below makes one glass.

1. Singapore Sling

Origin: Singapore

In 1915, Ngiam Tong Boon, a bartender at Raffles Hotel, created a tropical gin based cocktail disguised to look like fruit juice so that women had a socially acceptable way to drink alcohol in public, yes you read that correctly, way back when, it wasn’t acceptable for women to socially drink in public! Mr Boon deserves a lot more credit than he gets. Recently celebrating its 100th anniversary, this world famous cocktail is available in many variations at Raffles Hotel, Singapore, but of course the OG is the best. Should you get the change to visit Singapore, you must enjoy a Singapore Sling in the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel surrounded by piles of discarded peanut shells. Until then, here’s how to mix one up at home.

You can read more about the history of the Singapore Sling on the Raffles website.

Ingredients

30ml Gin

15ml Cherry brandy

7.5ml Cointreau

7.5ml Dom Benedictine

A dash of Angostura Bitters

10ml Grenadine

15ml Lime juice

120ml Pineapple juice

A handful of ice

Method

Put all the ingredients in the order listed above into a cocktail shaker.
Shake.
Add ice to your glass.
Strain into the glass.
Garnish with a slice of pineapple and/or a cherry.

2. Mai Tai

Origin: Maui, Hawaii

Fun Fact: The Mai Tai gets its name from “maita’i roa ae!” which in Tahitian means “the very best!”

There are many variations of the Mai Tai, most focus on making it sweet with a mix of pineapple and orange juices but the original 1944 recipe is as follows:

Ingredients

60ml Aged dark rum

30ml Lime juice

15ml Orange curaçao

7ml Orgeat (almond) syrup

7ml Simple syrup

2 Handfuls of ice

Method

Put all the ingredients in the order listed above into a cocktail shaker.
Shake.
Add ice to your glass.
Strain into the glass.

3. Caipirinha

Origin: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

It’s the national cocktail of Brazil and famous for its simplicity and intensity. Its sole liquid ingredient is Cachaça, which is a Brazilian hard liquor made from sugarcane. Despite it being made from sugar cane, it doesn’t carry an intense sweetness as you would expect, it only took two of these to send my partner running off on his own into the sea on Copacabana beach to frolic in what was very cold water in the middle of winter though.

Ingredients

1/2 Lime cut into quarters

1 tsp Sugar

70ml Cachaça

A handful of ice

Method

Put the lime and sugar in your glass.
Add the ice.
Pour in the Cachaça.
Stir.

4. Tequila Sunrise

Origin: Cancún, Mexico

If you’re not up for tequila shots (I for one am haunted by my teenage escapades at the student bar) but don’t want to miss out on the fun, a tequila sunrise is a great way to sweeten up those otherwise bitter memories, sorry I mean shots of tequila by making it a long drink accompanied by a lot of sugar. Despite it being a ridiculously popular drink in the 70s, thanks to the Eagles and Rolling Stones, it actually originated in the 1930s.

Ingredients

45ml Tequila

90ml Orange juice

15ml Grenadine syrup

2 Handfuls of ice

Method

Put the tequila and orange juice into a cocktail shaker.
Add ice.
Shake.
Add ice to your glass.
Strain into the glass.
Slowly pour in the grenadine syrup and let it settle at the bottom.

5. Monaco

Origin: Paris, France

This fruity French beer cocktail makes drinking beer easier for those who aren’t keen on it. I came across this cocktail in a Parisienne café when it was recommended to me by a friend who knew I hated the taste of beer. It’s now my go-to summer drink.