Sling (drink)


A sling is a drink that, in its classic form, is made with sugar, hot or cold water, nutmeg, and a spirit such as gin, whiskey, rum, or brandy. In its modern form, it is made with gin, sweet vermouth, lemon juice, simple syrup, Angostura bitters, and soda water. The word sling comes from the German schlingen, meaning "to swallow".
The Singapore Sling, which contains Grand Marnier, cherry liqueur, herbal liqueur, pineapple juice, lime juice, bitters, and club soda, is a variant of the gin sling.

History

The sling was intended to be a single-serving punch, following a similar formula except without necessarily having the 1 part sour to complement the 2 parts sweet, 3 parts strong, and 4 parts weak. The sling had a teaspoon of sugar, an ounce of water, two ounces of spirits, and lump of ice. The introduction of bitters brought about the cocktail, which had a spirit, sugar, water, and bitters, making it essentially an Old Fashioned.