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

Legend suggests that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was set that his team would win over a visiting English side. For a competitive edge, he organized a grand party the night before the match, at which he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are famously large four-finger whisky pours, historically measured from pinky to index finger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, leaving them terribly the worse for wear and, inevitably, defeated the following day. In this way, the myth of the Patiala peg was born.

This take on a kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from that original beverage. Here, we present it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've adjusted the formula to make it more suitable for a household setting.

Patiala Peg

Produces 1 litre, enough for 10-12 portions.

What's Required

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

Preparation

Place everything in a sizeable jug. Add 130g water, mix to combine, then place it in the fridge. You can store it for up to 21 days.

For serving, measure out about 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass filled with ice (ideally one big block). Drink immediately. If you're feeling traditional, you could use the four-finger measure as they did.