Drink of the Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe

Folklore suggests that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his team would win over a visiting English side. To gain the upper hand, he threw a grand party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were incredibly large four-finger measure whisky pours, historically measured from pinky to index finger. Predictably, the English players drank too much, leaving them terribly the worse for wear and, consequently, defeated the day after. Thus, the myth of the Patiala peg came to be.

This inspired kind-of old fashioned takes its cue from Singh's drink. At the restaurant, we present it from a bespoke five-litre bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it more suitable for a home environment.

The Patiala Peg Recipe

Yields 1 litre, to serve 10-12 drinks.

Ingredients

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

Preparation

Place all the ingredients in a sizeable jug. Add 130g water, stir until fully incorporated, then put it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for as long as three weeks.

To serve, measure out about 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass filled with ice (preferably one big block). Drink immediately. For a traditional touch, you could use the four-finger measure for authenticity.