Drink for This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – Recipe
Legend claims that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his team would succeed over a visiting English side. For a competitive edge, he threw a grand party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are incredibly large four-finger measure whisky pours, traditionally measured from pinky to index finger. As expected, the English players drank too much, leaving them extremely the worse for wear and, inevitably, beaten the following day. And so, the legend of the Patiala peg was born.
This inspired spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from the Maharaja's beverage. At the restaurant, we offer it from a bespoke five-litre bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it better suited for a household environment.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, to serve 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Combine everything in a big container. Pour in 130g water, stir thoroughly, then put it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for as long as a few weeks.
When ready to drink, measure out roughly 90ml of the infused whisky into a short glass packed with ice (ideally one large cube). Drink promptly. If you're feeling traditional, you could measure it in by hand as they did.
