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

Folklore claims that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his team would triumph over a touring English squad. To secure an advantage, he threw a lavish party the night before the match, where he served his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were notoriously substantial four-finger whisky pours, traditionally poured from little finger to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being very the worse for wear and, inevitably, vanquished the next day. Thus, the myth of the Patiala peg came to be.

This inspired kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from Singh's beverage. Here, we offer it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've adjusted the recipe to make it more suitable for a home kitchen.

Patiala Peg

Produces 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.

Ingredients

• 725g blended Scotch
• 130g simple syrup
• 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
• 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
• A small pinch of salt
• 2g xanthan gum

Instructions

Combine everything in a big container. Pour in 130g water, stir until fully incorporated, then put it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for as long as three weeks.

When ready to drink, measure out approximately 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass filled with ice (ideally one large cube). Serve immediately. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers for authenticity.