Cocktail This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – Recipe
Legend claims that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his cricket team would triumph over a visiting English team. To gain the upper hand, he organized a lavish party the night before the match, where he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are notoriously generous four-finger measure whisky pours, historically gauged from pinky to index finger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, leaving them terribly the worse for wear and, inevitably, defeated the day after. And so, the story of the Patiala peg originated.
This Punjabi kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail is inspired by that original drink. In our establishment, we offer it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've adjusted the formula to make it better suited for a domestic kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Yields 1 litre, to serve 10-12 drinks.
What's Required
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Instructions
Put everything in a sizeable jug. Pour in 130g water, agitate thoroughly, then transfer it in the fridge. It can be stored for about three weeks.
To serve, pour about 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass packed with ice (ideally one big block). Serve promptly. For a traditional touch, you could use the four-finger measure instead.
