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

Tale has it that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was set that his cricket team would succeed over a visiting English team. For a competitive edge, he threw a lavish party the night before the match, where he offered his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were famously generous four-finger whisky pours, traditionally gauged from little finger to index finger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, leaving them extremely the worse for wear and, inevitably, vanquished the next day. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg was born.

This take on a spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from that original drink. Here, we offer it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've adapted the instructions to make it easier for a home setting.

The Patiala Peg Recipe

Makes 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.

Ingredients

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

Instructions

Put all the ingredients in a large bottle. Add 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then put it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for up to a few weeks.

When ready to drink, dispense roughly 90ml of the infused whisky into a rocks glass filled with ice (preferably one big block). Enjoy straight away. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers as they did.