Drink This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Tale suggests that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his team would triumph over a visiting English side. To gain the upper hand, he threw a grand party on the eve of the match, where he served his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were notoriously large four-finger whisky pours, historically measured from little finger to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being very hungover and, consequently, beaten the next day. Thus, the story of the Patiala peg came to be.
This inspired spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail is inspired by Singh's drink. In our establishment, we present it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've adapted the formula to make it better suited for a home environment.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Place all the ingredients in a big container. Pour in 130g water, mix thoroughly, then put it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for up to a few weeks.
To serve, dispense roughly 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a old fashioned glass containing ice (traditionally one large cube). Enjoy immediately. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
