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

Tale suggests that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his cricket team would triumph over a visiting English team. To gain the upper hand, he hosted a grand party the night before the match, at which he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are notoriously large four-finger whisky servings, traditionally gauged from little finger to index finger. As expected, the English players drank too much, leaving them terribly the worse for wear and, consequently, beaten the day after. And so, the legend of the Patiala peg was born.

This inspired kind-of old fashioned takes its cue from that original beverage. At the restaurant, we offer it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've adapted the formula to make it better suited for a household setting.

Patiala Peg

Yields 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.

What's Required

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

Preparation

Combine all the ingredients 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, dispense about 90ml of the infused whisky into a short glass filled with ice (ideally one big block). Enjoy immediately. For a traditional touch, you could use the four-finger measure for authenticity.

Christine Klein
Christine Klein

An avid explorer and travel writer with over a decade of experience in documenting remote destinations and outdoor adventures.