Cocktail for This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Legend claims that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his team would succeed over a visiting English squad. For a competitive edge, he threw a lavish party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were notoriously substantial four-finger measure whisky pours, historically measured from pinky to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being very the worse for wear and, inevitably, beaten the day after. In this way, the legend of the Patiala peg was born.
This inspired spin on the old fashioned draws inspiration from that original beverage. Here, we offer it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it easier for a domestic kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Makes 1 litre, serving 10-12 people.
What's Required
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Preparation
Combine all the ingredients in a big container. Include 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then put it in the refrigerator. You can store it for as long as a few weeks.
For serving, dispense roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass filled with ice (preferably one large cube). Drink immediately. For a traditional touch, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
