Drink This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Folklore suggests that back in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his cricket team would win over a visiting English squad. To gain the upper hand, he organized a splendid party the night before the match, at which he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were notoriously generous four-finger measure whisky servings, traditionally measured from pinky to forefinger. As expected, the English players drank too much, leaving them extremely the worse for wear and, inevitably, beaten the day after. And so, the legend of the Patiala peg came to be.
This inspired spin on the old fashioned is inspired by Singh's beverage. Here, we offer it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it better suited for a household kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, enough for 10-12 people.
Ingredients
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about 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 refrigerator. You can store it for as long as three weeks.
When ready to drink, measure out approximately 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a old fashioned glass filled with ice (preferably one large cube). Enjoy straight away. If you're feeling traditional, you could use the four-finger measure for authenticity.
