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

Legend claims that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his cricket team would succeed over a visiting English squad. To secure an advantage, he hosted a lavish party the night before the match, at which he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are famously substantial four-finger whisky servings, historically gauged from little finger to forefinger. As expected, the English players drank too much, leaving them very hungover and, inevitably, beaten the day after. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg was born.

This Punjabi spin on the old fashioned takes its cue from Singh's beverage. In our establishment, we serve it from a bespoke five-litre bottle, but we've adjusted the formula to make it better suited for a household environment.

Patiala Peg

Produces 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.

You Will Need

• 725g Scotch whisky blend
• 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
• 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
• 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
• A pinch of salt
• 2g xanthan gum powder

Method

Put all the ingredients in a big container. Add 130g water, mix thoroughly, then place it in the fridge. You can store it for up to a few weeks.

To serve, pour approximately 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a short glass filled with ice (traditionally one large cube). Serve straight away. If you're feeling traditional, you could use the four-finger measure instead.