Drink This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Legend claims that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his cricket team would win over a touring English side. To gain the upper hand, he hosted a lavish party on the eve of the match, at which he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were notoriously generous four-finger measure whisky pours, customarily poured from pinky to index finger. As expected, the English players drank too much, leaving them extremely hungover and, inevitably, beaten the day after. And so, the story of the Patiala peg came to be.
This Punjabi kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from the Maharaja's drink. In our establishment, we serve it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've adapted the formula to make it more suitable for a domestic kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, enough for 10-12 people.
What's Required
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Place everything in a large bottle. Pour in 130g water, stir thoroughly, then place it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for about 21 days.
When ready to drink, pour about 90ml of the infused whisky into a old fashioned glass packed with ice (traditionally one big block). Enjoy promptly. For a traditional touch, you could measure it in by hand instead.
