Cocktail of the Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Tale has it that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his team would win over a touring English team. To secure an advantage, he threw a grand party on the eve of the match, at which he served his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were famously generous four-finger measure whisky pours, historically poured from pinky to forefinger. Predictably, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being extremely the worse for wear and, consequently, beaten the next day. Thus, the myth of the Patiala peg originated.
This Punjabi kind-of old fashioned takes its cue from that original beverage. Here, we present it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've adapted the formula to make it better suited for a domestic setting.
Patiala Peg
Makes 1 litre, to serve 10-12 portions.
What's Required
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Instructions
Combine all the ingredients in a sizeable jug. Pour in 130g water, mix thoroughly, then transfer it in the refrigerator. You can store it for as long as a few weeks.
To serve, pour about 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass packed with ice (ideally one big block). Serve straight away. For a traditional touch, you could use the four-finger measure as they did.
