SINGAPORE SLING

Originally designed as a woman's drink, today it is hailed as the national cocktail of Singapore and lends its name to one of the Singapore Grand Prix's most challenging turns.

This pink cocktail was concocted more than a century ago by Ngiam Tong Boon at the Long Bar of Raffles Hotel, Singapore's most famous historic icon. Like the majority of its kitchen staff, Ngiam was Hainanese, a Chinese group known for being outstanding cooks and caterers. Before becoming Raffles Hotel's bar captain in the early 1900s, he had worked in Vietnam, Burma and on the French ships. He died in an early age on home leave on the Hainan Island, off the southern coast of China. Eleven years later, his son came to work at Raffles Hotel's Dining Room.

Singapore Sling is still served at the Raffles Hotel's Long Bar – 1,200 cocktails on average every day. The hotel's museum claims to house the safe in which the recipe was stored by its inventor.

While the Singapore Sling formula is not a secret, with its recipe published in Raffles Hotel's brochures and the nation's first encyclopaedia, some of its ingredients are a mystery in their own right.

Benedictine is a slightly sweet liqueur named after the Benedictine monks who were first to produce it back in the 16th century. Benedictine recipe is a closely guarded secret to this day. The only thing known is that it is based on Cognac and flavored with fruit peels and herbs.

Angostura Bitters is a blend of rare tropical herbs and spices. The formula was first compounded in 1824 by Dr. Johann Siegert, Surgeon-General in the army of the liberator of South America, Simon Bolivar. Wishing to improve the appetites and well-being of his troops, the doctor experimented for years before finding the exact formula that he was after. Today, it is known to only five living people, making Angostura bitters one of the most guarded secrets in history.