Drink of the Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Tale suggests that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his cricket team would win over a visiting English squad. To secure an advantage, he hosted a splendid party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were famously generous four-finger measure whisky servings, traditionally gauged from pinky to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being very the worse for wear and, consequently, defeated the day after. In this way, the myth of the Patiala peg was born.
This take on a variation of old fashioned is inspired by Singh's drink. At the restaurant, we serve it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it easier for a home setting.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.
What's Required
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Instructions
Combine everything in a sizeable jug. Add 130g water, mix to combine, then transfer it in the refrigerator. You can store it for about a few weeks.
When ready to drink, dispense about 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass filled with ice (traditionally one large cube). Drink immediately. To honour tradition, you could measure it in by hand instead.