Drink for This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Tale has it that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his cricket team would succeed over a visiting English side. To gain the upper hand, he threw a grand party on the eve of the match, where he offered his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These are incredibly generous four-finger whisky pours, traditionally gauged from little finger to index finger. Predictably, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being terribly hungover and, consequently, vanquished the following day. And so, the story of the Patiala peg originated.
This inspired variation of old fashioned takes its cue from the Maharaja's beverage. In our establishment, we offer it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it easier for a home environment.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, to serve 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Instructions
Put everything in a big container. Pour in 130g water, stir until fully incorporated, then place it in the fridge. It will now keep for up to 21 days.
For serving, pour about 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a short glass containing ice (preferably one big block). Serve straight away. For a traditional touch, you could measure it in by hand as they did.
