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

Folklore suggests that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his team would win over a touring English squad. To gain the upper hand, he hosted a grand party on the eve of the match, at which he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were notoriously substantial four-finger whisky pours, historically poured from little finger to index finger. Predictably, the English players partook excessively, resulting in them being very hungover and, consequently, vanquished the next day. Thus, the story of the Patiala peg originated.

This Punjabi spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from that original concoction. At the restaurant, we offer it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've adapted the instructions to make it more suitable for a household environment.

The Patiala Peg Recipe

Yields 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.

You Will Need

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

Instructions

Place all the ingredients in a big container. Include 130g water, stir until fully incorporated, then place it in the fridge. You can store it for about three weeks.

For serving, measure out about 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a old fashioned glass filled with ice (preferably one large cube). Enjoy straight away. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers instead.