Cocktail for This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Legend suggests that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his team would succeed over a visiting English squad. To gain the upper hand, he threw a grand party on the eve of the match, where he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are notoriously large four-finger whisky pours, customarily poured from pinky to index finger. As expected, the English players overindulged, leaving them terribly the worse for wear and, inevitably, beaten the day after. And so, the myth of the Patiala peg was born.
This Punjabi spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from the Maharaja's drink. At the restaurant, we present it from a bespoke five-litre bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it better suited for a domestic setting.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Produces 1 litre, to serve 10-12 drinks.
Ingredients
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Combine everything in a sizeable jug. Add 130g water, mix thoroughly, then transfer it in the fridge. It can be stored for about 21 days.
When ready to drink, pour about 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a old fashioned glass filled with ice (ideally one big block). Drink straight away. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
