08 Jul 2021
When the Singapore Sling returned to the Long Bar following Raffles Hotel Singapore's two-year restoration in late 2018, it was revitalised with elevated craft ingredients and a refreshed taste profile, crafted to suit the modern palate while staying true to its original recipe and heritage.
A little known fact about this elevated Singapore Sling is the use of ecoSPIRITS, making it more sustainable and better for our environment. Working closely with Proof & Company and ecoSPIRITS, the iconic cocktail has become the forerunner for Raffles Hotel Singapore in its move to reducing single-use waste and carbon footprint. By using the patent-pending ecoSPIRITS technology – Widges Gin, Luxardo Cherry Sanque Morlacco and Ferrand Dry Curaçao, key ingredients in the Singapore Sling, are all delivered to Long Bar in patent-pending ecoTOTETM format, saving tens of thousands of glass bottles each year. Furthering the sustainability profile of the cocktail, both the Luxardo Maraschino Cherries used as garnishes and the exclusive Long Bar Scrappy's Spiced Plantation Bitters are shipped in large low-waste formats, eliminating several thousand kilograms of packaging waste per year. In addition, the single-use plastic straws have also been replaced with biodegradable versions made with potato starch.
Estimated using the ecoSPIRITS Carbon Calculator, developed by leading consulting firm Deloitte, the Singapore Sling saves the equivalent of 200g of CO2 emission per serving. As the Singapore Sling continues to reduce single-use glass waste and other packaging and service wastes, it continues striving for a positive impact on sustainability. Under the ecoSPIRITS Forest Program, Raffles Hotel Singapore is planting one native tree in the Kalimantan or Sumatran rainforest for every 25 Singapore Slings ordered, leaving a permanent legacy of carbon reduction and reforestation of endangered wild areas. Discover Raffles Hotel Singapore's contribution to these endangered rainforests through a live digital forrest here.
“ecoSPIRITS is proudly a 'Born in Singapore' technology. To be able to work with one of Singapore's great icons - Raffles Hotel Singapore – to transition the Singapore Sling into a new era of sustainability, quality and taste is a dream come true,” notes Paul Gabie, Chief Executive Officer, ecoSPIRITS. “Raffles is the first hotel in the world to use the ecoSPIRITS technology, going back to 2018 following Long Bar's reopening. Their leadership in committing to green innovation and a vision of a sustainable future in food and beverage can serve as an inspiration to all of us,” he adds.
A toast to illustrious history
With a history spanning more than a century, the Singapore Sling was first created by Ngiam Tong Boon, a Hainanese bartender at Raffles Hotel Singapore, as an ingenious way to disguise a cocktail as a fruit juice. In those days, etiquette dictated that ladies could not consume alcohol in public and their choice of beverage was limited to tea and fruit juices. Ever insightful, Ngiam Tong Boon saw an opportunity and decided to create a cocktail that looked like a fruit juice but was actually infused with gin and other liqueurs. He used pineapple and lime juices for a tropical flavour and cleverly masked it in pink with grenadine syrup to give it a feminine flair, leading people to think it was a socially acceptable drink for women. The rest is illustrious history. Today, the Singapore Sling continues to delight and inspire with its rich heritage and proud legacy.
Slingology
This month the Long Bar celebrates the launch of Slingology - a year-long collaboration with some of Singapore's top cocktail bars. Raising a glass to the Singapore Sling, Slingology partners with guest bartenders to create and present their own Singapore Sling-inspired concoctions at Long Bar, building commaraderie within the tight-knit bartending fraternity while engaging cocktail enthusiasts and the community at large.
Exclusively on the last Sunday of each month, a guest bartender will make a special appearance at Long Bar to present his or her rendition of the Singapore Sling, alongside a few of their own other favourite cocktails. Following this one-day pop up, the Sling-inspired creations will continue to be available for one month before the next guest bartender arrives and the offering refreshes.
Launching this exciting line-up is Jason Williams - creative director of Proof & Company and the co-creator of Widges Gin. Discover Pineapple Hospitality and Sling Old Fashioned, Jason's unique spin on the Singapore Sling at Long Bar from 27 June to 24 July 2021. In the next several months, Slingology continues to excite guests with its award-winning line-up of cocktail bars, including two of Asia's 50 Best Bars- 28 Hong Kong Street from 25 July to 28 August and ATLAS Bar from 29 August to 25 September 2021.
To add to the merriment, guests can enjoy a complimentary Singapore Sling when they order the original Sling or the guest bartender's inspired spin-off. Available until 31 August 2021, this exclusive promotion welcomes the community back to the historic Long Bar to experience its lively ambience with plantation-inspired décor while celebrating this world-renowned cocktail.
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When: |
Slingology Series Jason Williams: 27 June to 24 July 2021 28 Hong Kong Street: 25 July to 28 August 2021 Thursday & Friday: 3:00pm to 10:00pm (last order) Saturday & Sunday: 2.00pm to 10.00pm (last order) Open on Public Holidays |
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Where: |
#02-01 Raffles Arcade, 328 North Bridge Rd, Singapore 188719 (Accessible via the North Bridge Road entrance) |
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Website: |
For reservations, please call (65) 6412 1816, email singapore@raffles.com or make your booking directly here.
Enhanced safety and hygiene measures
As we navigate through the ongoing pandemic, Raffles Hotel Singapore continues to embody the philosophy that guides our service excellence, whilst maintaining the highest hygiene standards to safeguard the health and wellbeing of all our guests and staff. Guests can be reassured that all public spaces and restaurants have been reconfigured to facilitate safe distancing and there is a strict adherence policy in place to HACCP principles for food preparation and hygiene. Specific to dining, guests are invited to discover our digitalised menus made available for all restaurants featuring a la carte and made-to-order options.
Editor's Notes:
- For high-resolution images of the Long Bar, Raffles Hotel Singapore, please click here. Please credit Raffles Hotel Singapore for the use of these images.
For further information, please contact:
Jane Corbett-Jones
PR Representative Australia
Mob : 0417 772783
Email : janecorbettjones@gmail.com
ABOUT RAFFLES SINGAPORE: Opened in 1887, Raffles Singapore is one of the few remaining great 19th century hotels in the world. Till today, its architecture is perfectly preserved both inside and out, giving it an intoxicating blend of luxury, history and classic colonial design. Within its walls are more than a hundred expansive suites, framed by polished teak verandahs and white marble colonnades, clustered around lush tropical gardens. Each is serviced by the legendary Raffles butlers and offers every modern convenience necessary.
Raffles Singapore has recently undergone a careful and sensitive restoration and has fully reopened on 1 August 2019. The restoration of Raffles Singapore is designed to ensure that it retain what is so special about Raffles – the ambience, the service, the charm and the heritage of the hotel. It is also designed for Raffles Singapore to stay relevant and distinctive by moving with the times and with its guests and adapting to the changing needs of the well-travelled and Singapore's community.
ABOUT RAFFLES: Raffles Hotels & Resorts boasts an illustrious history and some of the most prestigious hotel addresses worldwide. In 1887, Raffles Singapore set the standard for luxury hospitality, introducing the world to private butlers, the Singapore Sling and its enduring, legendary service. Today, Raffles continues this tradition in leading cities and lavish resort locales, enchanting travellers with meaningful experiences and service that is both gracious and intuitive. Connoisseurs of life choose Raffles, not merely for its aura of culture, beauty and gentility, but for the extraordinary way they feel when in residence with Raffles. Each Raffles, be it Paris, Istanbul, Warsaw, Jakarta or the Seychelles, serves as a venerated oasis where travellers arrive as guests, leave as friends and return as family. Raffles is part of Accor, a world-leading augmented hospitality group which invites travellers to feel welcome in almost 4,800 hotels, resorts and residences, along with some 10,000 of the finest private homes around the globe.
raffles.com | accorhotels.com
ABOUT ecoSPIRITS: ecoSPIRITS is a patent-pending, first-in-the-world circular packaging technology for premium. Founded in Singapore in 2018 and now available across Asia Pacific, ecoSPIRITS is an innovative closed-loop distribution technology that nearly eliminates packaging waste in the premium spirits supply chain. With each single use glass spirit bottle eliminated, ecoSPIRITS saves at least 550 grams of carbon emissions. The ecoSPIRITS Forest Program plants one tree for each cycle of an ecoTOTE through the ecoSPIRITS closed loop system, sequestering an additional 1,800 g of carbon emissions per glass bottle saved. The ecoSPIRITS Licensed Operator program allows experienced spirits industry partner to bring closed loop service to local markets around the world. ecoSPIRITS is currently available in Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, China, Australia, New Zealand and, starting in June 2021, the United Kingdom.
