Drink for This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – Recipe
Tale has it that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his cricket team would win over a visiting English team. To secure an advantage, he organized a lavish party the night before the match, where he served his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These are notoriously substantial four-finger whisky pours, traditionally gauged from pinky to index finger. Predictably, the English players partook excessively, resulting in them being terribly hungover and, consequently, beaten the day after. Thus, the myth of the Patiala peg came to be.
This Punjabi variation of Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from the Maharaja's concoction. At the restaurant, we serve it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've adjusted the formula to make it better suited for a household kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Makes 1 litre, to serve 10-12 drinks.
What's Required
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Combine everything in a big container. Pour in 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then place it in the refrigerator. You can store it for as long as 21 days.
When ready to drink, measure out about 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a short glass packed with ice (traditionally one big block). Drink straight away. For a traditional touch, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
