Drink of the Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – How to Make It

Tale claims that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his cricket team would win over a touring English team. To gain the upper hand, he hosted a grand party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were famously large four-finger measure whisky pours, historically measured from pinky to forefinger. Predictably, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being extremely the worse for wear and, inevitably, vanquished the day after. In this way, the myth of the Patiala peg came to be.

This inspired spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail is inspired by Singh's beverage. At the restaurant, we serve it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've modified the formula to make it better suited for a domestic setting.

Patiala Peg

Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 people.

You Will Need

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

Preparation

Put all the ingredients in a large bottle. Pour in 130g water, stir to combine, then put it in the refrigerator. You can store it for about 21 days.

For serving, measure out about 90ml of the infused whisky into a old fashioned glass filled with ice (traditionally one large cube). Enjoy straight away. For a traditional touch, you could pour it using your fingers instead.