Raffles Hotel is a colonial-style luxury hotel in Singapore, established by Armenian hoteliers, the Sarkies Brothers, in 1887, and named after British statesman Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore. Initial only a ten-room hotel, in proximity to the beach, it has expanded over time, and in 1899 a new main building was constructed, designed by architect Regent Alfred John Bidwell of Swan and Maclaren, which also expanded over the years.
During WWII, the hotel was renamed by the Japanese occupants Syonan Ryokan. On the night of 22 August 1945, 300 Japanese officers held a farewell sake party there, before committing suicide en masse in response to receiving orders to surrender the garrison. Between 1989 and 1991 it was restored to the grand style of its 1915 heyday. All guest rooms were converted to suites, and Long Bar, which was a favorite spot of celebrities such as Somerset Maugham, was relocated to a new shopping arcade.
Long Bar is where the national cocktail, the Singapore Sling was invented sometime before 1915 by the Hainanese bartender Ngiam Tong Boon. It was initially called the gin sling - a sling was originally an American drink composed of spirit and water, sweetened and flavored. D. A. Embury stated in the Fine Art of Mixing Drinks: "Of all the recipes published for [this drink] I have never seen any two that were alike." The hotel's recipe was recreated based on the memories of former bartenders and written notes that they discovered regarding the original recipe.
By the 1980s, the Singapore Sling was often little more than gin, bottled sweet and sour, and grenadine. With the move towards fresh juices and the re-emergence of quality products like Cherry Heering, the cocktail has begun to resemble its original version. Recipes published in articles about Raffles Hotel before the 1970s are significantly different from current recipes, and Singapore Slings drunk elsewhere in Singapore differ from the recipe used at Raffles Hotel.
About the stamp
The stamp is part of the series Myths and Legends - Sang Nila Utama and Singapura, designed by Lim An-Ling and issued on October 3, 2014.
1st local
2nd local
0.50 SGD
2.00 SGD - It's on the postcard 3054
References
Raffles Hotel - Wikipedia
Singapore Sling - Wikipedia
Sender: Pumipat
Sent from Singapore, on 02.05.2017
No comments:
Post a Comment