Drink of the Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Legend claims that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his cricket team would triumph over a visiting English squad. For a competitive edge, he organized a splendid party the night before the match, at which he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are notoriously generous four-finger whisky servings, historically poured from pinky to index finger. Predictably, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being terribly the worse for wear and, consequently, vanquished the following day. And so, the myth of the Patiala peg originated.
This inspired kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from Singh's beverage. At the restaurant, we serve it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've adapted the instructions to make it better suited for a household environment.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Makes 1 litre, serving 10-12 people.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Put all the ingredients in a big container. Include 130g water, mix to combine, then place it in the fridge. You can store it for about 21 days.
To serve, measure out about 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a old fashioned glass packed with ice (traditionally one large cube). Serve straight away. To honour tradition, you could measure it in by hand for authenticity.
