Cocktail for This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – How to Make It

Tale claims that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his team would win over a touring English team. To gain the upper hand, he hosted a lavish party the night before the match, at which he offered his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were notoriously substantial four-finger whisky pours, historically poured from little finger to forefinger. As expected, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being terribly the worse for wear and, inevitably, beaten the following day. In this way, the legend of the Patiala peg came to be.

This take on a spin on the old fashioned takes its cue from that original beverage. In our establishment, we offer it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've modified the formula to make it more suitable for a domestic kitchen.

The Patiala Peg Recipe

Produces 1 litre, to serve 10-12 people.

You Will Need

• 725g blended Scotch
• 130g simple syrup
• 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
• 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
• A small pinch of salt
• 2g xanthan gum powder

Instructions

Put all the ingredients in a sizeable jug. Add 130g water, stir until fully incorporated, then place it in the refrigerator. You can store it for as long as three weeks.

To serve, dispense about 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass filled with ice (preferably one big block). Drink immediately. For a traditional touch, you could use the four-finger measure for authenticity.