Cocktail This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Tale claims that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his team would win over a touring English team. To gain the upper hand, he hosted a splendid party the night before the match, at which he served his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are notoriously substantial four-finger measure whisky pours, historically gauged from little finger to index finger. Unsurprisingly, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being very hungover and, inevitably, beaten the day after. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg originated.
This inspired spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from that original beverage. At the restaurant, we serve it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've modified the formula to make it better suited for a home setting.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Makes 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.
Ingredients
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Method
Place all the ingredients in a large bottle. Add 130g water, mix to combine, then put it in the fridge. It can be stored for about 21 days.
When ready to drink, measure out approximately 90ml of the infused whisky into a old fashioned glass filled with ice (ideally one big block). Drink immediately. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers as they did.
