Sipping Singapore Slings at the famed Raffles Hotel in Singapore!

“Would you like me to clear the table for you, madame?” With one swoop of his arm he brushed the peanut shells off the table and they fell to the growing pile on the floor. I stared at the waiter with mild horror and walked towards my seat crunching the peanut shells under my feet. Did he really just do that?

I had come to the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel for the same reason everyone else does; to sip on a Singapore Sling in the very hotel where the drink was invented in the early 1900s.

Inside the bar was dark and inviting. Palm shaped fans created a cooling breeze, while guests from around the world leaned back in wicker chairs and enjoyed their pink drinks in hand – everyone in the room was sipping a Singapore Sling.

I scanned the room and noticed that piles of peanut shells were littered around the chairs and the tables at the Long Bar.

What was the meaning of this?

It was too messy to be careless behaviour…was there a tradition behind it all?

Our Experience Drinking A Singapore Sling At The Raffles Hotel

I got up to take a few photos and that’s when I noticed the sign:

Quite possible the one place in Singapore where littering is actually encouraged. Never would we suggest you break the law. But at the Long Bar at Raffles, feel free to brush your peanut shells onto the floor… 

Apparently the Long Bar is one of 18 unique establishments at the Raffles Hotel where breaking culinary rules is the norm. It’s only at the end of the day when the bar is ready to close that the peanuts shells are finally swept away.

While no one can say for sure when or why this tradition originated, my guess is that the waiters got tired of sweeping the floor 50 times a day and behold a new tradition was born!

When the waiter returned with the menu, I was in for a bit of a shock. I gulped as I read the price:

Singapore Sling…………….$27

The Singapore Sling Is Expensive

But here I was, sitting at the Long Bar. In the Raffles Hotel. In Singapore. I ordered one up and thought to myself, people in Manhattan are probably paying a lot more for a drink in the city on a Friday night – let’s do this!

Minutes later my drink appeared in a hurricane shaped glass – a punch of pink with a foamy top, garnished with a Maraschino cherry and a slice of pineapple.

It was my first Singapore Sling ever. I may not be a cocktail expert – I certainly can’t distinguish brandy from gin – however, I can’t think of a better place to enjoy this classic.

My only regret is that I didn’t make it to any of the other 18 bars and restaurants where you’re allowed to toss food on the ground. It looks like I have a good reason to come back to Singapore now!

Making the Most of Your Visit to the Long Bar

How the Singapore Sling Came to Be

In 1915, Ngiam Tong Boon, a Hainanese bartender working the Long Bar, faced a peculiar problem of colonial etiquette: the men around him were free to order gin and whisky, but women were expected to stick to tea or fruit juice in public. His solution was a blush-pink cocktail that looked innocuous enough to pass polite scrutiny while carrying a full gin base underneath it. Grenadine and Cherry Heering gave it the giveaway colour; the gin did the rest. It caught on fast, and within a few years it had become the accepted workaround for anyone — not just women — who wanted something with more of a kick than the drinks list technically allowed.

The Sling on today’s menu isn’t a straight line back to 1915, and Raffles doesn’t pretend otherwise. The hotel closed for a two-and-a-half-year restoration and reopened the Long Bar in November 2018 with a reworked recipe built around Brass Lion Singapura Gin, a locally distilled spirit with notes of orange and mandarin peel — a small but deliberate nod to Singaporean heritage rather than a generic import gin. If you visit on June 27th, you’ll catch Singapore Sling Day, held annually at the Long Bar to mark the anniversary; it coincides with International Pineapple Day, and past editions have seen guests trade a whole pineapple at the door for a complimentary Sling.

Understanding the Price

Recent visitors report paying somewhere in the region of S$37–40 for the classic Sling before the additional 10% service charge and 9% GST are added — noticeably more than the figure printed in older guides, so treat any specific number here as a starting point rather than gospel and check the current menu board outside the bar, since Raffles doesn’t publish drink prices online. Whatever the exact figure on the day, you’re paying for three things bundled into one glass.

The first is the venue itself — a gazetted National Monument where Somerset Maugham reportedly drew on the atmosphere for his short stories, and where the room still runs on ceiling fans and wicker chairs rather than anything more modern. The second is the ritual that comes with it: a full sack of complimentary peanuts lands on your table the moment you sit down, and most people work through a genuinely surprising quantity of them while they wait to be served. The third, if you’re tempted by it, is the option to upgrade to a version that comes with a keepsake glass — availability and pricing for this have shifted over the years, so ask your server rather than assuming it’s on the menu.

If you just want to taste the drink without paying for the room around it, bars a short walk away on Purvis Street pour a competent Singapore Sling for roughly half the price. They don’t have the fans or the floor covered in shells, but the cocktail itself is close enough that most people can’t tell the difference blind.

The Peanut-Shell Tradition, Explained

The Long Bar is one of the only places in Singapore where you’re actively encouraged to litter, and the sign near the entrance says as much: guests are invited to brush their peanut shells straight onto the floor, a habit that would get you fined almost anywhere else in the city. According to Raffles itself, the custom traces back to the early 1900s, when rubber and plantation owners from Malaya gathered at the bar on weekends and were served peanuts as a snack — casually flicking the shells to the ground as they talked business, a habit that hardened into tradition over the following decades rather than being invented on purpose.

Staff sweep the floor only once, at closing, which means the pile builds steadily across the day and is often ankle-deep by evening. New visitors are usually caught off guard the first time a waiter clears a table by brushing the shells straight onto the ground rather than into a bin — it looks like a mistake until you clock the sign and realise it’s the house rule. Once you understand what’s going on, joining in becomes part of the appeal rather than something to feel awkward about.

Practical Information Before You Go

What Else to Do at Raffles Once the Glass Is Empty

The Long Bar is reason enough to visit, but the hotel itself rewards a longer look around:

1. Raffles Boutique — Next to the lobby, with tea-scented candles and monogrammed travel accessories; one of the better hotel gift shops around.
2. Heritage Gallery — A free mini-museum behind the grand staircase, with photographs, original documents, and exhibits on the hotel’s most notable guests.
3. Writers Bar — A quieter cocktail alternative with a literary-themed menu; a good choice for a second, calmer drink.
4. Tiffin Room Curry Buffet — The North Indian spread served in brass tiffin carriers has been a Singapore institution for over a century. Lunchtime seatings fill up — book ahead.

Recreating the Sling at Home

The Long Bar itself now mixes its Sling with locally-distilled Brass Lion Singapura Gin, but the classic homemade version below is closer to the recipe most people have printed at home and doesn’t require a specialty bottle:

• 30 ml London dry gin
• 15 ml Cherry Heering liqueur
• 7.5 ml Cointreau
• 7.5 ml Bénédictine
• 10 ml grenadine (or fresh pomegranate syrup for a less sweet version)
• 10 ml fresh lime juice
• 120 ml pineapple juice
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

Shake hard with ice until frothy, strain into a hurricane glass, and garnish with a pineapple spear and a maraschino cherry. The froth on top is the tell — it means you’ve shaken it properly rather than just stirred it together.

Serving suggestion: Satay skewers with peanut sauce alongside the drink keeps the tropical feel going and is a genuinely good flavour combination.

Is It Worth the Hype? An Honest Assessment

Why it works:

• The setting is genuinely transporting — the palm fans, the wicker chairs, and the Peranakan tile details put you somewhere else entirely
• The bartenders are precise — this isn’t a tourist shortcut version of the drink
• The peanut ritual and the overall atmosphere make for a memorable hour that’s fun to explain to people afterward

The honest caveats:

• Two drinks will run a couple close to S$90 once service and tax are added — plan for it rather than being caught off guard
• Evenings mean a genuine wait; the peanuts help pass the time, but it’s worth knowing going in
• If you prefer drier, more complex cocktails, the Sling will read as sweet to a modern palate — that’s not a flaw so much as historical accuracy, but worth knowing before you order

The honest take: go once for the lore and the setting. Then explore what Singapore’s current cocktail scene looks like — Atlas Bar, Jigger & Pony, and Native are all doing genuinely original work that’s worth a second night out.

Tours and Experiences Worth Booking in Singapore

The Long Bar visit slots naturally into a broader day in the colonial district — here are three tours worth building the rest of your itinerary around:

• Small-Group Michelin and Local Hawker Food Tour — the essential counterpart to the Raffles experience; where the Sling represents colonial luxury, this walking tour through Chinatown’s hawker centres represents Singapore at its most democratic and delicious, with a guide steering you toward the stalls locals actually queue for. Good for solo travellers and small groups.
• Singapore: Colonial Splendour Walking Tour with Lunch — covers the Old European Town and Civic District around Raffles, with a three-course lunch by the river at Boat Quay included. The historical context makes the Long Bar visit land differently once you understand the period it emerged from. Good for couples and history-minded travellers.
• Singapore: Gardens by the Bay Guided Tour — a guided walk through the Supertree Grove, Cloud Forest, and Flower Dome that pairs well with an evening Sling; the free Garden Rhapsody light show at the Supertree Grove runs nightly and is an easy, budget-friendly add-on for families or anyone short on time.

Where to Stay Near Raffles and the Colonial District

The area around Raffles — City Hall, Marina Bay, the civic district — is one of the best-located parts of Singapore for accessing both the historic sights and the modern waterfront. Staying here means easy access to the Long Bar, Gardens by the Bay, the National Gallery, and the Marina Bay Sands light show.

• Splurge: Raffles Hotel itself — the obvious choice if the colonial experience is the whole point of your stay; the room rate puts the price of a Sling in perspective.
• Luxury/family: The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore — housed in the restored 1904 Stamford House and 1933 Capitol Building, a genuinely beautiful heritage property with family-friendly touches and direct access to City Hall MRT.
• Honeymoon/splurge: The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore — a sleek, 100-room waterfront property on Marina Bay with a rooftop infinity pool and skyline views, a short walk from Raffles along the river.
• Mid-range: Hotel Fort Canning — set within Fort Canning Park with excellent access to Dhoby Ghaut MRT; colonial-style and considerably easier on the wallet than the five-star options nearby.
• Budget: YWCA Fort Canning — a straightforward, well-located budget option beside Fort Canning Park, a five-minute walk from Dhoby Ghaut MRT, with a pool and family-friendly rooms.

FAQ: Visiting the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel Singapore

Planning to sip a Singapore Sling where it was invented? Here are the questions most visitors ask before stepping into the Long Bar.

Why is the Singapore Sling at Raffles so famous?

The Singapore Sling was created here in 1915 by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon as a socially acceptable way for women to enjoy a proper drink in a colonial setting where that would otherwise have raised eyebrows. Its blush-pink colour looked like fruit juice; the gin punch was the secret. Over a century later, the Long Bar is still where people come to taste the closest modern version of the original.

How much does a Singapore Sling cost at Raffles?

Recent visitors report roughly S$37–40 for the classic Sling, before the additional 10% service charge and 9% GST. Prices aren’t published online, so check the menu board on arrival. You’re not just paying for the drink; you’re paying for the setting, the history, and the peanuts.

Is it really worth paying that much for a cocktail?

Depends what you’re after. If you want craft-cocktail innovation, there are better places and better value elsewhere in Singapore. If you want to sit under colonial-era ceiling fans in a National Monument, toss peanut shells on the floor in a city famous for fining you for littering, and drink the cocktail that started here — yes, once, it’s worth it.

What’s the story behind the peanut shells on the floor?

Guests are actively encouraged to drop shells on the floor — one of the only places in Singapore where littering is part of the experience rather than a fine waiting to happen. Raffles traces the habit back to the early 1900s, when plantation owners gathering at the bar would casually brush their peanut shells to the ground; the staff sweep everything away only when the bar closes for the night.

Do I need a reservation?

Most visitors don’t need one — it’s walk-in only. Groups of 10 to 20 guests can arrange a reservation directly with the hotel in advance.

What should I wear?

Smart-casual. Neat shorts and sandals are fine; beachwear is not. Most visitors dress up slightly because it’s Raffles — there’s something about the building that makes you want to make an effort.

When is it busiest and when should I go?

Late afternoon into evening is the busiest stretch, when the after-work crowd and tourists both converge. Come earlier in the day or later in the evening for a more relaxed visit.

Is there more to do at Raffles beyond the Long Bar?

Quite a bit. The Heritage Gallery is free and genuinely interesting. The Raffles Boutique is one of the better hotel gift shops you’ll come across. The Writers Bar makes for a quieter second drink. And the Tiffin Room curry buffet is worth booking ahead for lunch if you’re planning to spend time at the hotel.

Are there cheaper places to try a Singapore Sling nearby?

Yes — bars along Purvis Street, a short walk from Raffles, serve a reliable Sling for roughly half the price. A pragmatic approach: Raffles for the experience, Purvis Street for a second round at a more sensible price.

Can I make a Singapore Sling at home?

Yes — and it’s more achievable than it looks. The recipe above has everything you need: gin, Cherry Heering, Cointreau, Bénédictine, grenadine, lime, pineapple juice, and bitters. Shake it hard until genuinely frothy before straining — the froth is what makes it look right in the glass.

How long should I plan to spend at the Long Bar?

Most people stay 45 minutes to an hour for the drink itself. If you want to look around the hotel more broadly — boutique, Heritage Gallery, courtyard — allow 1.5–2 hours total.

Is it good for solo visitors or only groups?

Both work well. Solo, there’s something quite cinematic about sitting at the bar alone with a pink drink and a pile of peanuts. In a group, the ritual of everyone ordering the same thing and taking the same photos is its own kind of fun.

Have you ever had a Singapore Sling?
Have you been to a bar or a restaurant with any quirky traditions?