Cocktail This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Folklore has it that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his cricket team would succeed over a visiting English team. For a competitive edge, he organized a grand party the night before the match, at which he offered his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were incredibly substantial four-finger whisky pours, customarily gauged from little finger to index finger. As expected, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being extremely the worse for wear and, consequently, beaten the day after. And so, the story of the Patiala peg was born.
This take on a kind-of old fashioned is inspired by the Maharaja's concoction. At the restaurant, we present it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've adjusted the formula to make it better suited for a home setting.
Patiala Peg
Produces 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Instructions
Place everything in a sizeable jug. Add 130g water, stir thoroughly, then put it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for up to a few weeks.
For serving, measure out approximately 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a old fashioned glass containing ice (ideally one large cube). Drink immediately. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers as they did.
