Cocktail for This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Tale suggests that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his team would succeed over a visiting English side. To secure an advantage, he threw a grand party on the eve of the match, where he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were famously generous four-finger measure whisky pours, customarily measured from pinky to index finger. Predictably, the English players partook excessively, resulting in them being very the worse for wear and, consequently, defeated the next day. And so, the myth of the Patiala peg was born.
This Punjabi kind-of old fashioned is inspired by the Maharaja's concoction. At the restaurant, we offer it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've adjusted the recipe to make it more suitable for a home environment.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Produces 1 litre, enough for 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 small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Method
Put all the ingredients in a big container. Include 130g water, agitate to combine, then put it in the fridge. It can be stored for as long as a few weeks.
For serving, measure out roughly 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a short glass packed with ice (ideally one big block). Enjoy immediately. To honour tradition, you could measure it in by hand for authenticity.
