Drink for This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It

Folklore claims that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his team would triumph over a touring English squad. To gain the upper hand, he organized a splendid party on the eve of the match, where he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were famously large four-finger measure whisky servings, historically poured from pinky to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, leaving them extremely the worse for wear and, inevitably, defeated the following day. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg came to be.

This take on a spin on the old fashioned takes its cue from that original drink. At the restaurant, we offer it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it better suited for a domestic kitchen.

The Patiala Peg Recipe

Yields 1 litre, to serve 10-12 drinks.

You Will Need

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

Preparation

Put everything in a big container. Add 130g water, agitate to combine, then put it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for up to three weeks.

To serve, measure out about 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass packed with ice (traditionally one large cube). Serve immediately. If you're feeling traditional, you could use the four-finger measure as they did.