Drink of the Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Folklore suggests that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his team would win over a touring English team. To gain the upper hand, he organized a grand party on the eve of the match, at which he served his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are incredibly large four-finger measure whisky pours, historically gauged from pinky to index finger. Predictably, the English players partook excessively, leaving them extremely the worse for wear and, inevitably, beaten the next day. In this way, the myth of the Patiala peg was born.
This Punjabi spin on the old fashioned takes its cue from the Maharaja's drink. At the restaurant, we present it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've adjusted the instructions to make it more suitable for a home kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Produces 1 litre, serving 10-12 drinks.
Ingredients
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Preparation
Combine everything in a large bottle. Pour in 130g water, stir thoroughly, then put it in the fridge. You can store it for as long as 21 days.
For serving, measure out about 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a rocks glass packed with ice (traditionally one large cube). Serve straight away. If you're feeling traditional, you could measure it in by hand instead.
