Cocktail for This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Folklore suggests that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was set that his cricket team would succeed over a visiting English side. For a competitive edge, he threw a splendid party on the eve of the match, at which he served his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were incredibly generous four-finger whisky pours, customarily measured from pinky to forefinger. Predictably, the English players partook excessively, resulting in them being very the worse for wear and, inevitably, beaten the next day. And so, the story of the Patiala peg was born.
This take on a spin on the old fashioned draws inspiration from the Maharaja's concoction. Here, we serve it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've adjusted the formula to make it easier for a home kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.
What's Required
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Method
Combine all the ingredients in a large bottle. Include 130g water, agitate thoroughly, then put it in the fridge. You can store it for as long as a few weeks.
For serving, pour roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a old fashioned glass packed with ice (ideally one large cube). Enjoy straight away. If you're feeling traditional, you could pour it using your fingers as they did.
