Cocktail for This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Folklore suggests that back in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his cricket team would succeed over a visiting English side. For a competitive edge, he hosted a grand party the night before the match, at which he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were famously substantial four-finger measure whisky servings, historically poured from pinky to forefinger. Predictably, the English players drank too much, leaving them extremely the worse for wear and, inevitably, vanquished the following day. Thus, the story of the Patiala peg came to be.
This take on a variation of old fashioned takes its cue from the Maharaja's concoction. At the restaurant, we serve it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've adapted the formula to make it more suitable for a home kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Makes 1 litre, enough for 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1â…“ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately â…• tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Instructions
Put everything in a large bottle. Add 130g water, mix to combine, then place it in the fridge. You can store it for about a few weeks.
When ready to drink, measure out approximately 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a short glass filled with ice (ideally one big block). Enjoy promptly. For a traditional touch, you could use the four-finger measure for authenticity.
