Cocktail This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Legend has it that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his cricket team would succeed over a visiting English team. For a competitive edge, he organized a lavish party on the eve of the match, at which he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are famously substantial four-finger measure whisky pours, historically poured from little finger to index finger. As expected, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being extremely hungover and, consequently, defeated the next day. In this way, the myth of the Patiala peg was born.
This Punjabi kind-of old fashioned takes its cue from the Maharaja's beverage. At the restaurant, we offer it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it better suited for a household environment.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Yields 1 litre, enough for 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Place everything in a large bottle. Add 130g water, agitate thoroughly, then place it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for about 21 days.
To serve, pour approximately 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a old fashioned glass filled with ice (preferably one large cube). Drink promptly. If you're feeling traditional, you could use the four-finger measure as they did.
