Drink for This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Folklore suggests that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his cricket team would succeed over a touring English side. To gain the upper hand, he threw a splendid party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were famously substantial four-finger whisky servings, historically poured from little finger to forefinger. As expected, the English players overindulged, leaving them terribly the worse for wear and, inevitably, beaten the next day. And so, the legend of the Patiala peg originated.
This inspired kind-of old fashioned draws inspiration from Singh's beverage. In our establishment, we serve it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it better suited for a domestic setting.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Makes 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Preparation
Combine all the ingredients in a sizeable jug. Pour in 130g water, stir until fully incorporated, then transfer it in the fridge. You can store it for about 21 days.
When ready to drink, measure out roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a short glass filled with ice (preferably one big block). Serve straight away. For a traditional touch, you could measure it in by hand instead.
