Drink for This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Tale has it that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was set that his cricket team would win over a visiting English squad. To gain the upper hand, he threw a splendid party the night before the match, where he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are famously large four-finger measure whisky servings, traditionally gauged from pinky to index finger. As expected, the English players overindulged, leaving them very the worse for wear and, consequently, defeated the day after. In this way, the myth of the Patiala peg came to be.
This inspired kind-of old fashioned draws inspiration from the Maharaja's concoction. In our establishment, we serve it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've adapted the formula to make it more suitable for a domestic environment.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 drinks.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Combine all the ingredients in a large bottle. Add 130g water, mix until fully incorporated, then transfer it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for as long as a few weeks.
For serving, pour approximately 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a rocks glass filled with ice (traditionally one big block). Serve promptly. If you're feeling traditional, you could measure it in by hand instead.
