How can different ingredients be replaced in the Singapore Sling recipe? I recently was in Singapore, where I tasted some of the most incredible Singapore Slings ever (hint: the best was NOT at the Raffles, but I guess this is a matter of personal taste).

When I came back home, I really wanted to buy the ingredients to prepare it at home, but I found that if I follow the original recipe (well, I do have something different), the taste is different. 

I am pretty sure then, that the bars I visited did something different, and I'd like to find out the combination that I like the most.

I used:

120ml Generic brand pineapple Juice
7,5ml Cointreau
7,5ml DOM Benedectine 
15ml Generic brand lime juice
15ml Bols cherry brandy
30ml Beefeater gin
10ml Monin Grenadine
Dash of Angostura bitter


If I drink it near the ice, it tastes good, while if I do it with a straw from the bottom of the glass, the after taste is... Too much Almond-like, sweet/bitter.

I wonder if Cherry Heering really is that "something" here (I know the Bols is cheap, maybe DeKuyper instead?), or if I can substitute Cointreau with a Triple Sec, or if I have to choose a better gin.

Any idea?
I adjusted the recipe to be:

120ml Generic brand pineapple Juice
7,5ml Cointreau
7,5ml DOM Benedectine 
10ml Generic brand lime juice
15ml Bols cherry brandy
30ml Beefeater gin
10ml Monin Grenadine
Dash of Angostura bitter


Plus I bought a shaker and shook the whole thing with 4 cubes of ice.

I got a very good flavour with a slightly creamy texture, which is very near to what I drank in Singapore. The color is not pink as wanted, but it is a very good cocktail :)