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.
Ingredients
170ml Pale ale
60ml Lemonade
45ml Grenadine syrup
2 Handfuls of ice
Method
Pour the lemonade and grenadine syrup into a cocktail shaker.
Add ice.
Shake.
Add ice to your glass.
Strain into the glass.
Pour beer on top.
.
So there you have it, five jet setter cocktails from around the world, which one will be your favourite?
Aloha, Gabriella
