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 cricket team would succeed over a visiting English team. To gain the upper hand, he threw a grand party the night before the match, where he served his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were notoriously substantial four-finger whisky pours, customarily measured from pinky to index finger. Unsurprisingly, the English players overindulged, leaving them terribly the worse for wear and, inevitably, beaten the following day. Thus, the story of the Patiala peg originated.

This inspired variation of Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from that original beverage. At the restaurant, we offer it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've adapted the instructions to make it better suited for a home setting.

Patiala Peg

Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 drinks.

What's Required

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

Instructions

Place all the ingredients in a large bottle. Pour in 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then place it in the fridge. You can store it for up to 21 days.

To serve, dispense roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass packed with ice (traditionally one big block). Serve straight away. For a traditional touch, you could measure it in by hand as they did.