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

Folklore suggests that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his team would succeed over a touring English side. For a competitive edge, he hosted a grand party on the eve of the match, where he served his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are famously generous four-finger whisky pours, traditionally gauged from little finger to forefinger. As expected, the English players drank too much, leaving them very hungover and, consequently, vanquished the following day. And so, the story of the Patiala peg originated.

This Punjabi kind-of old fashioned is inspired by that original concoction. At the restaurant, we present it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it better suited for a domestic setting.

Patiala Peg

Produces 1 litre, enough for 10-12 people.

Ingredients

• 725g Scotch whisky blend
• 130g simple syrup
• 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
• 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
• A small pinch of salt
• 2g xanthan gum

Preparation

Combine all the ingredients in a big container. Add 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then put it in the refrigerator. You can store it for as long as 21 days.

When ready to drink, pour about 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a old fashioned glass packed with ice (traditionally one large cube). Enjoy straight away. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers as they did.