Drink for This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Tale claims that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his cricket team would win over a touring English side. For a competitive edge, he threw a grand party on the eve of the match, at which he presented his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These are famously large four-finger whisky servings, historically gauged from pinky to forefinger. Predictably, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being very the worse for wear and, consequently, vanquished the day after. Thus, the myth of the Patiala peg came to be.
This take on a variation of Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from Singh's drink. At the restaurant, we serve it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it more suitable for a home environment.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Makes 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Instructions
Place all the ingredients in a sizeable jug. Pour in 130g water, agitate thoroughly, then transfer it in the fridge. You can store it for up to a few weeks.
To serve, measure out roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a short glass filled with ice (ideally one large cube). Drink immediately. For a traditional touch, you could use the four-finger measure for authenticity.
