Cocktail of the Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe
Folklore suggests that back in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his cricket team would succeed over a visiting English squad. To secure an advantage, he hosted a lavish party on the eve of the match, at which he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were famously generous four-finger measure whisky pours, customarily measured from pinky to index finger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, leaving them very the worse for wear and, inevitably, beaten the next day. Thus, the story of the Patiala peg came to be.
This Punjabi variation of Old Fashioned cocktail is inspired by Singh's concoction. In our establishment, we offer it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it better suited for a home kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Produces 1 litre, serving 10-12 people.
Ingredients
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Instructions
Put all the ingredients in a big container. Add 130g water, mix until fully incorporated, then transfer it in the refrigerator. You can store it for as long as a few weeks.
To serve, dispense about 90ml of the infused whisky into a short glass containing ice (ideally one large cube). Enjoy promptly. For a traditional touch, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
