Cocktail This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – Recipe
Folklore claims that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was set that his team would succeed over a visiting English team. For a competitive edge, he organized a lavish party on the eve of the match, where he served his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were notoriously generous four-finger whisky pours, customarily gauged from little finger to forefinger. As expected, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being extremely the worse for wear and, inevitably, beaten the next day. Thus, the myth of the Patiala peg came to be.
This inspired spin on the old fashioned is inspired by Singh's drink. At the restaurant, we present it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it better suited for a domestic environment.
Patiala Peg
Produces 1 litre, serving 10-12 drinks.
What's Required
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Instructions
Put all the ingredients in a sizeable jug. Pour in 130g water, mix to combine, then place it in the fridge. It will now keep for about 21 days.
To serve, dispense approximately 90ml of the infused whisky into a old fashioned glass containing ice (preferably one big block). Serve straight away. To honour tradition, you could measure it in by hand as they did.
