Cocktail This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Tale suggests that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his cricket team would win over a touring English squad. To secure an advantage, he organized a splendid party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are notoriously substantial four-finger whisky servings, historically measured from pinky to forefinger. Predictably, the English players overindulged, leaving them very hungover and, inevitably, vanquished the next day. And so, the myth of the Patiala peg originated.
This inspired kind-of old fashioned draws inspiration from the Maharaja's beverage. In our establishment, we present it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it easier for a household setting.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Makes 1 litre, to serve 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Instructions
Place everything in a big container. Pour in 130g water, stir until fully incorporated, then put it in the fridge. It can be stored for as long as three weeks.
To serve, pour about 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 pour it using your fingers as they did.
