Cocktail This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Tale claims that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his cricket team would succeed over a visiting English side. To gain the upper hand, he organized a lavish party on the eve of the match, where he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were notoriously generous four-finger measure whisky servings, customarily gauged from little finger to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players overindulged, leaving them extremely hungover and, inevitably, beaten the day after. Thus, the story of the Patiala peg originated.
This Punjabi variation of Old Fashioned cocktail is inspired by Singh's drink. Here, we serve it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've adjusted the formula to make it more suitable for a domestic kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Produces 1 litre, to serve 10-12 portions.
You Will Need
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Place everything in a big container. Include 130g water, stir to combine, then place it in the fridge. You can store it for up to a few weeks.
For serving, measure out roughly 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a rocks glass containing ice (ideally one big block). Enjoy straight away. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers for authenticity.
