Drink of the Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Tale has it that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his cricket team would win over a touring English squad. To gain the upper hand, he hosted a lavish party on the eve of the match, at which he offered his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were notoriously substantial four-finger whisky servings, traditionally poured from pinky to index finger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being terribly the worse for wear and, inevitably, vanquished the day after. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg came to be.
This take on a spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail is inspired by the Maharaja's concoction. Here, we offer it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it more suitable for a household environment.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Makes 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Combine all the ingredients in a sizeable jug. Add 130g water, mix until fully incorporated, then put it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for about 21 days.
To serve, pour about 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a old fashioned glass containing ice (preferably one big block). Serve straight away. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers as they did.