Drink for This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Tale suggests that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his team would succeed over a touring English squad. To secure an advantage, he organized a splendid party on the eve of the match, where he offered his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are incredibly large four-finger measure whisky pours, traditionally gauged from pinky to forefinger. As expected, the English players drank too much, leaving them extremely hungover and, consequently, defeated the day after. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg came to be.
This take on a spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from that original drink. In our establishment, we present it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've adapted the formula to make it more suitable for a home kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Makes 1 litre, serving 10-12 drinks.
What's Required
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Place everything in a sizeable jug. Pour in 130g water, mix until fully incorporated, then put it in the refrigerator. You can store it for up to a few weeks.
To serve, pour about 90ml of the infused whisky into a rocks glass filled with ice (ideally one big block). Serve immediately. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
