Drink This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Legend has it that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was set that his team would succeed over a visiting English side. To secure an advantage, he threw a grand party on the eve of the match, at which he served his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were incredibly substantial four-finger measure whisky servings, traditionally gauged from little finger to index finger. Predictably, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being very hungover and, consequently, defeated the day after. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg originated.
This Punjabi spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from Singh's beverage. At the restaurant, we serve it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've modified the formula to make it better suited for a household kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Makes 1 litre, to serve 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Instructions
Put all the ingredients in a large bottle. Add 130g water, stir thoroughly, then transfer it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for up to a few weeks.
To serve, measure out approximately 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a short glass containing ice (ideally one large cube). Drink immediately. If you're feeling traditional, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
