Cocktail This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – Recipe
Folklore has it that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his team would win over a visiting English side. To gain the upper hand, he threw a grand party on the eve of the match, where he served his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These are notoriously substantial four-finger measure whisky servings, historically gauged from pinky to index finger. Predictably, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being extremely the worse for wear and, inevitably, defeated the day after. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg came to be.
This Punjabi spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from Singh's concoction. Here, we offer it from a bespoke five-litre bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it easier for a domestic kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Makes 1 litre, enough for 10-12 people.
You Will Need
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Instructions
Put everything in a big container. Include 130g water, mix thoroughly, then put it in the fridge. It can be stored for about three weeks.
To serve, pour approximately 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a old fashioned glass filled with ice (ideally one big block). Drink immediately. For a traditional touch, you could pour it using your fingers as they did.
