Cocktail of the Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Legend has it that back in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his team would succeed over a touring English side. To secure an advantage, he organized a splendid party on the eve of the match, at which he presented his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These are famously substantial four-finger measure whisky servings, traditionally gauged from little finger to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being very the worse for wear and, inevitably, defeated the day after. Thus, the story of the Patiala peg originated.
This take on a variation of old fashioned draws inspiration from Singh's beverage. Here, we offer it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've adapted the formula to make it more suitable for a home environment.
Patiala Peg
Makes 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 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. Add 130g water, agitate thoroughly, then transfer it in the fridge. It will now keep for about 21 days.
For serving, measure out about 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a short glass filled with ice (ideally one big block). Serve immediately. To honour tradition, you could use the four-finger measure instead.
