Cocktail for This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Folklore has it that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his cricket team would win over a touring English team. To secure an advantage, he threw a splendid party on the eve of the match, at which he presented his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were notoriously generous four-finger measure whisky pours, historically gauged from little finger to forefinger. As expected, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being extremely the worse for wear and, inevitably, beaten the next day. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg was born.
This take on a kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from the Maharaja's concoction. Here, we serve it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've adjusted the formula to make it better suited for a home setting.
Patiala Peg
Makes 1 litre, to serve 10-12 portions.
You Will Need
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Put everything in a sizeable jug. Add 130g water, stir thoroughly, then place it in the fridge. You can store it for about 21 days.
To serve, pour approximately 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a rocks glass packed with ice (ideally one large cube). Serve immediately. For a traditional touch, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
