Drink for This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Folklore has it that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was set that his cricket team would win over a touring English team. To secure an advantage, he hosted a splendid party on the eve of the match, where he served his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are notoriously large four-finger measure whisky servings, customarily measured from pinky to index finger. As expected, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being extremely the worse for wear and, consequently, beaten the day after. Thus, the story of the Patiala peg originated.
This inspired kind-of old fashioned takes its cue from the Maharaja's concoction. In our establishment, we present it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've adjusted the recipe to make it more suitable for a home environment.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 drinks.
What's Required
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Put all the ingredients in a big container. Pour in 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then put it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for as long as 21 days.
For serving, dispense roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a old fashioned glass filled with ice (traditionally one large cube). Serve immediately. To honour tradition, you could measure it in by hand for authenticity.
