Cocktails can be served or cocktails can be prescribed. This past weekend we had the opportunity to do the latter when we hosted a friend who in the past week lost her cable, her babysitter and her job. She has strong antibodies to adversity, having been through worse before, so we figured all she needed was a dose of optimism and sunshine. The perfect medicine? A Singapore Sling, a drink that uses two of our favorite classic liqueurs, Cherry Heering, an all-natural sour cherry liqueur whose recipe dates from 1818, and Be?ne?dictine.

In researching the Singapore Sling, we found general agreement that it was invented at the Raffles hotel in Singapore, but different recipes. Out of the many we tried, we found they fell into 2 categories: fruity/sweet and refreshing/bitter. So we present one of each. Which version you like will depend on your mood, palate, the temperature outside, the day of the week, the level of the Dow and your company. If you’ve got your M.D. (mixology doctorate), you can use your professional judgment. And remember how economical home remedies can be – one $30 bottle of Cherry Heering can make 33 Singapore Slings!

Our suggested sweet combo:

1/2 oz Cherry Heering
1 oz Gin (we used DH Krahn)
4 oz pineapple juice
1/2 oz lime juice
1/4 oz Be?ne?dictine
1/4 oz Triple Sec
1 teaspoon grenadine
dash Angostura bitters

Historic recipe from Dr. Cocktail (Ted Haigh)’s research (much less sweet but refreshing with the bitters taking a front seat):

2 dashes of Orange Bitters
2 dashes of Angostura Bitters
3/4 oz lemon juice
1/4 oz Be?ne?dictine
1/4 oz Cherry Heering
1 oz Gin (we used DH Krahn)

Pour into a tumbler (including the ice from the shaker) and fill up with cold soda water.