Cocktail of the Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Legend claims that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his cricket team would triumph over a visiting English side. For a competitive edge, he organized a grand party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are famously substantial four-finger whisky pours, traditionally measured from pinky to forefinger. Predictably, the English players drank too much, leaving them terribly the worse for wear and, inevitably, defeated the next day. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg originated.
This take on a kind-of old fashioned takes its cue from that original beverage. In our establishment, we serve it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've modified the formula to make it easier for a home setting.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Produces 1 litre, to serve 10-12 people.
Ingredients
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Preparation
Place all the ingredients in a large bottle. Add 130g water, mix thoroughly, then place it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for about three weeks.
For serving, measure out roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a old fashioned glass filled with ice (ideally one big block). Serve straight away. If you're feeling traditional, you could use the four-finger measure as they did.
