Cocktail This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – Recipe
Legend claims that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his cricket team would win over a visiting English side. For a competitive edge, he threw a lavish party on the eve of the match, where he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were famously generous four-finger measure whisky servings, customarily measured from pinky to index finger. As expected, the English players drank too much, leaving them very the worse for wear and, inevitably, defeated the following day. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg originated.
This Punjabi kind-of old fashioned is inspired by the Maharaja's drink. In our establishment, we serve it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've adapted the formula to make it better suited for a domestic kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Makes 1 litre, serving 10-12 people.
Ingredients
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Instructions
Combine all the ingredients in a large bottle. Add 130g water, stir to combine, then put it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for about 21 days.
For serving, pour about 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass filled with ice (traditionally one large cube). Drink straight away. To honour tradition, you could use the four-finger measure for authenticity.
