Cocktail This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Tale has it that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his cricket team would triumph over a visiting English squad. For a competitive edge, he threw a splendid party on the eve of the match, at which he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are incredibly substantial four-finger whisky pours, customarily gauged from little finger to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, leaving them extremely the worse for wear and, consequently, beaten the next day. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg originated.
This take on a kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from the Maharaja's beverage. Here, we present it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it easier for a household kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Produces 1 litre, to serve 10-12 people.
Ingredients
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Method
Put all the ingredients in a large bottle. Pour in 130g water, mix to combine, then transfer it in the fridge. You can store it for about three weeks.
When ready to drink, dispense roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass filled with ice (preferably one big block). Drink promptly. If you're feeling traditional, you could pour it using your fingers as they did.
