Cocktail This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – Recipe
Legend claims that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his team would succeed over a touring English team. To secure an advantage, he organized a grand party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were famously large four-finger whisky pours, traditionally measured from little finger to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players partook excessively, resulting in them being very the worse for wear and, inevitably, vanquished the following day. Thus, the myth of the Patiala peg came to be.
This inspired kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail is inspired by the Maharaja's drink. At the restaurant, we offer it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've modified the formula to make it more suitable for a household kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Makes 1 litre, to serve 10-12 drinks.
What's Required
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Preparation
Place everything in a sizeable jug. Add 130g water, mix until fully incorporated, then place it in the fridge. You can store it for up to a few weeks.
For serving, measure out roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass packed with ice (preferably one large cube). Serve straight away. To honour tradition, you could measure it in by hand for authenticity.
