Drink for This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – Recipe

Folklore claims that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his cricket team would triumph over a visiting English side. To gain the upper hand, he threw a lavish party on the eve of the match, where he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are incredibly large four-finger whisky servings, traditionally gauged from pinky to forefinger. As expected, the English players drank too much, leaving them extremely hungover and, inevitably, vanquished the day after. And so, the legend of the Patiala peg originated.

This Punjabi spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail is inspired by that original beverage. Here, we present it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've adapted the instructions to make it better suited for a domestic kitchen.

The Patiala Peg Recipe

Yields 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.

You Will Need

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

Method

Combine everything in a sizeable jug. Add 130g water, stir thoroughly, then place it in the refrigerator. You can store it for about 21 days.

For serving, dispense approximately 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a rocks glass packed with ice (preferably one big block). Drink promptly. For a traditional touch, you could use the four-finger measure as they did.