Drink for This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – Recipe
Legend claims that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his team would succeed over a visiting English squad. To gain the upper hand, he organized a lavish party the night before the match, at which he presented his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were notoriously generous four-finger measure whisky servings, historically gauged from little finger to forefinger. As expected, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being terribly hungover and, consequently, vanquished the day after. Thus, the story of the Patiala peg originated.
This inspired variation of Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from the Maharaja's drink. Here, we serve it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've adapted the formula to make it easier for a household environment.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Makes 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Instructions
Combine all the ingredients in a big container. Pour in 130g water, mix thoroughly, then place it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for about 21 days.
For serving, measure out approximately 90ml of the infused whisky into a short glass filled with ice (ideally one big block). Drink promptly. For a traditional touch, you could use the four-finger measure instead.
