Cocktail This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Folklore claims that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his team would win over a visiting English side. For a competitive edge, he threw a grand party on the eve of the match, at which he served his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These are incredibly large four-finger whisky servings, customarily poured from little finger to index finger. As expected, the English players drank too much, leaving them terribly hungover and, consequently, defeated the following day. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg was born.
This take on a kind-of old fashioned is inspired by that original concoction. Here, we present it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it better suited for a household setting.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Makes 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Preparation
Combine everything in a large bottle. Add 130g water, mix thoroughly, then place it in the fridge. You can store it for about three weeks.
When ready to drink, pour roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a old fashioned glass packed with ice (traditionally one big block). Enjoy immediately. To honour tradition, you could use the four-finger measure as they did.
