Cocktail This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – Recipe

Tale suggests that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his cricket team would succeed over a visiting English team. For a competitive edge, he threw a lavish party on the eve of the match, where he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were famously generous four-finger measure whisky servings, traditionally measured from pinky to forefinger. Predictably, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being very the worse for wear and, consequently, defeated the next day. In this way, the myth of the Patiala peg came to be.

This take on a spin on the old fashioned takes its cue from Singh's beverage. Here, we present it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've adapted the instructions to make it easier for a domestic environment.

Patiala Peg

Yields 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.

What's Required

• 725g Scotch whisky blend
• 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
• 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
• 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
• A pinch of salt
• 2g xanthan gum powder

Preparation

Put all the ingredients in a large bottle. Add 130g water, stir until fully incorporated, then transfer it in the refrigerator. You can store it for about 21 days.

For serving, pour approximately 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass packed with ice (traditionally one big block). Enjoy straight away. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers instead.