Cocktail This Week: Ambassadors Clubhouse's Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe

Folklore has it that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his cricket team would triumph over a visiting English squad. To gain the upper hand, he threw a grand party on the eve of the match, where he offered his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were notoriously substantial four-finger measure whisky servings, traditionally measured from pinky to index finger. Predictably, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being very hungover and, inevitably, beaten the next day. And so, the myth of the Patiala peg was born.

This inspired kind-of old fashioned draws inspiration from Singh's beverage. At the restaurant, we present it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've adjusted the recipe to make it more suitable for a household setting.

Patiala Peg

Makes 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.

Ingredients

725g Scotch whisky blend
130g sugar syrup
6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
A pinch of salt
2g xanthan gum

Preparation

Put all the ingredients in a sizeable jug. Add 130g water, mix thoroughly, then transfer it in the fridge. It can be stored for about 21 days.

To serve, dispense approximately 90ml of the infused whisky into a short glass containing ice (ideally one big block). Serve immediately. To honour tradition, you could use the four-finger measure instead.