Cocktail for This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – Recipe
Tale has it that back in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his team would triumph over a visiting English team. To secure an advantage, he hosted a splendid party on the eve of the match, where he offered his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These are notoriously large four-finger measure whisky pours, historically measured from pinky to forefinger. Predictably, the English players drank too much, leaving them extremely the worse for wear and, consequently, defeated the following day. In this way, the myth of the Patiala peg came to be.
This take on a kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail is inspired by the Maharaja's beverage. Here, we present it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it easier for a domestic kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Produces 1 litre, enough for 10-12 portions.
You Will Need
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Place all the ingredients in a big container. Add 130g water, mix thoroughly, then place it in the fridge. It will now keep for as long as a few weeks.
For serving, pour roughly 90ml of the infused whisky into a rocks glass packed with ice (preferably one big block). Drink straight away. If you're feeling traditional, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
