Drink This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Tale has it that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his team would win over a touring English squad. For a competitive edge, he organized a lavish party the night before the match, at which he presented his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These are notoriously large four-finger measure whisky servings, traditionally gauged from little finger to index finger. As expected, the English players partook excessively, leaving them extremely hungover and, consequently, defeated the next day. And so, the story of the Patiala peg was born.
This take on a variation of old fashioned takes its cue from the Maharaja's concoction. Here, we present it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've adjusted the instructions to make it better suited for a home setting.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.
Ingredients
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Method
Put all the ingredients in a sizeable jug. Add 130g water, mix to combine, then put it in the fridge. It will now keep for about three weeks.
When ready to drink, measure out about 90ml of the infused whisky into a short glass packed with ice (traditionally one big block). Serve straight away. If you're feeling traditional, you could measure it in by hand instead.
