Cocktail This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Folklore has it that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his cricket team would triumph over a visiting English team. To secure an advantage, he threw a lavish party the night before the match, at which he served his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were famously large four-finger whisky pours, historically poured from little finger to index finger. Predictably, the English players partook excessively, leaving them terribly the worse for wear and, consequently, vanquished the next day. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg was born.
This Punjabi spin on the old fashioned draws inspiration from Singh's beverage. In our establishment, we present 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
Produces 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.
Ingredients
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Put all the ingredients in a large bottle. Pour in 130g water, mix until fully incorporated, then place it in the fridge. It can be stored for up to a few weeks.
For serving, pour approximately 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass packed with ice (preferably one big block). Serve straight away. If you're feeling traditional, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
