Drink for This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Legend has it that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his team would succeed over a visiting English team. For a competitive edge, he organized a grand party the night before the match, at which he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are notoriously substantial four-finger measure whisky pours, customarily measured from little finger to forefinger. As expected, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being very hungover and, inevitably, defeated the day after. And so, the legend of the Patiala peg came to be.
This inspired kind-of old fashioned draws inspiration from Singh's drink. In our establishment, we offer it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it easier for a home kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Makes 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Instructions
Combine all the ingredients in a sizeable jug. Add 130g water, stir to combine, then transfer it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for up to a few weeks.
For serving, measure out approximately 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass packed with ice (traditionally one large cube). Enjoy immediately. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers as they did.
