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

Tale has it that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his team would win over a visiting English squad. To secure an advantage, he hosted a splendid party the night before the match, at which he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are incredibly generous four-finger whisky pours, traditionally gauged from pinky to index finger. Predictably, the English players partook excessively, leaving them very the worse for wear and, inevitably, beaten the following day. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg originated.

This take on a spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from Singh's drink. In our establishment, we serve it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've adjusted the instructions to make it easier for a home setting.

Patiala Peg

Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.

Ingredients

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

Instructions

Combine everything in a large bottle. Pour in 130g water, stir to combine, then place it in the refrigerator. You can store it for about a few weeks.

For serving, measure out about 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a short glass filled with ice (ideally one large cube). Drink straight away. For a traditional touch, you could pour it using your fingers for authenticity.