Drink for This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Tale suggests that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his team would triumph over a touring English team. To gain the upper hand, he hosted a splendid party the night before the match, at which he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are notoriously large four-finger measure whisky pours, customarily measured from pinky to forefinger. As expected, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being extremely the worse for wear and, inevitably, defeated the day after. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg was born.
This Punjabi variation of old fashioned draws inspiration from that original beverage. At the restaurant, we offer it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've adjusted the instructions to make it more suitable for a household environment.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Produces 1 litre, serving 10-12 people.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Preparation
Combine everything in a big container. Include 130g water, mix thoroughly, then put it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for about three weeks.
For serving, measure out approximately 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a short glass filled with ice (traditionally one big block). Enjoy promptly. If you're feeling traditional, you could measure it in by hand for authenticity.
