Cocktail of the Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – Recipe
Folklore suggests that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his cricket team would win over a touring English side. To gain the upper hand, he organized a grand party on the eve of the match, where he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were famously generous four-finger whisky servings, customarily poured from little finger to index finger. Predictably, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being extremely hungover and, inevitably, vanquished the day after. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg originated.
This Punjabi kind-of old fashioned takes its cue from Singh's drink. In our establishment, we serve it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it better suited for a home kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Produces 1 litre, enough for 10-12 people.
What's Required
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Place all the ingredients in a large bottle. Include 130g water, mix to combine, then transfer it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for as long as 21 days.
For serving, measure out roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a old fashioned glass filled with ice (ideally one big block). Serve straight away. If you're feeling traditional, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
