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

Folklore has it that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his team would succeed over a touring English squad. To gain the upper hand, he hosted a grand party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were notoriously substantial four-finger whisky servings, historically gauged from pinky to index finger. As expected, the English players partook excessively, leaving them very the worse for wear and, consequently, vanquished the day after. In this way, the myth of the Patiala peg was born.

This take on a variation of old fashioned is inspired by that original concoction. Here, we serve it from a bespoke five-litre bottle, but we've modified the formula to make it more suitable for a household kitchen.

Patiala Peg

Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.

Ingredients

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

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients in a big container. Include 130g water, mix until fully incorporated, then put it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for up to 21 days.

For serving, measure out approximately 90ml of the infused whisky into a rocks glass containing ice (preferably one big block). Serve straight away. If you're feeling traditional, you could measure it in by hand instead.