Cocktail of the Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Folklore suggests that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his team would triumph over a visiting English team. To gain the upper hand, he threw a lavish party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were notoriously substantial four-finger whisky servings, traditionally poured from pinky to index finger. As expected, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being terribly hungover and, consequently, beaten the next day. In this way, the legend of the Patiala peg came to be.
This take on a variation of old fashioned is inspired by the Maharaja's beverage. At the restaurant, we serve it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've modified the formula to make it better suited for a domestic environment.
Patiala Peg
Produces 1 litre, serving 10-12 people.
Ingredients
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Instructions
Put everything in a sizeable jug. Pour in 130g water, mix until fully incorporated, then transfer it in the refrigerator. You can store it for about 21 days.
For serving, pour approximately 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a short glass filled with ice (traditionally one large cube). Serve straight away. If you're feeling traditional, you could use the four-finger measure instead.
