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

Folklore has it that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his cricket team would triumph over a visiting English squad. For a competitive edge, he threw a lavish party on the eve of the match, where he served his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were incredibly large four-finger measure whisky pours, customarily measured from pinky to index finger. Predictably, the English players overindulged, leaving them terribly hungover and, inevitably, defeated the day after. And so, the myth of the Patiala peg originated.

This take on a variation of old fashioned draws inspiration from that original concoction. Here, we present it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've adapted the instructions to make it better suited for a domestic setting.

Patiala Peg

Makes 1 litre, to serve 10-12 drinks.

What's Required

• 725g blended scotch whisky
• 130g sugar syrup
• 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
• 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
• A small pinch of salt
• 2g xanthan gum

Method

Put all the ingredients in a big container. Pour in 130g water, mix until fully incorporated, then place it in the refrigerator. You can store it for up to a few weeks.

For serving, measure out approximately 90ml of the infused whisky into a old fashioned glass packed with ice (ideally one large cube). Enjoy immediately. To honour tradition, you could use the four-finger measure as they did.