The Sydney Sling

Designed to be the signature cocktail of Sydney, and was launched at Opera Bar in 2014. It had to have all the hallmarks of a “summer” drink: long, refreshing, effervescent, dry; however it also had to be approachable (and scalable!). 

The first iteration of the sling was based on westwinds “sabre” gin. We always wanted to showcase an Australian product and at the time west winds was emerging as a great example of a new world gin that was readily available in most bottle shops (so everyone could make slings at home!). 

Though it was an obvious nod to Raffles’ famed Singapore sling, the drink was structured a bit differently and with the inclusion of fresh mint and soda – it was much lighter in texture. As such, it appealed to aficionados of many types of classic cocktails – mojito, gimlet, Singapore sling, southside, gin sour and others. 

The drink was a smashing success, however, after 4 years and nearly 100,000 sold, it was time for a change. We wanted to keep the balance the same, but update the flavours. 

The new Sydney sling (No. 2) would also include Australian gin, however this time from an east coast distillery. Four Pillars rare dry is a delicious gin made in the Yarra Valley, and it continually receives local and international awards. It has an amazing mouth feel with a slight sharpness from Tasmanian pepperberries, and a soft, floral citrus from the whole oranges and lemon myrtle used in its production. 

Sydney Sling No. 2 combines this wonderful spirit with fresh mint, citrus and elderflower, and the secret ingredient: smoked lemonade (made by PS40). The smoked lemonade is made locally (on king street in the Sydney CBD) and is driven by flavours of native ironbark and fruitwood. 

The Sydney Sling no.2 is a suberb balance of fresh, dry, sweet and aromatic, and is still one of our most popular drinks on the menu. 

Coming soon:

Video tutorial with our very own Steve Davis on how to create a Sydney Sling.