Drink This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – Recipe
Legend claims that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his cricket team would win over a touring English squad. To secure an advantage, he hosted a lavish party the night before the match, at which he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were famously substantial four-finger whisky pours, historically measured from little finger to index finger. As expected, the English players overindulged, leaving them very the worse for wear and, inevitably, vanquished the day after. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg was born.
This Punjabi variation of Old Fashioned cocktail is inspired by that original beverage. In our establishment, we present it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it more suitable for a domestic kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Produces 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.
Ingredients
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Place everything in a sizeable jug. Include 130g water, stir until fully incorporated, then put it in the fridge. It can be stored for as long as three weeks.
For serving, measure out roughly 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a short glass packed with ice (traditionally one large cube). Enjoy straight away. To honour tradition, you could use the four-finger measure instead.
