Cocktail for This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Tale suggests that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his team would win over a visiting English team. For a competitive edge, he threw a grand party on the eve of the match, where he offered his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were notoriously generous four-finger whisky pours, historically gauged from little finger to index finger. Unsurprisingly, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being terribly the worse for wear and, consequently, beaten the following day. And so, the legend of the Patiala peg originated.
This Punjabi variation of old fashioned takes its cue from that original drink. In our establishment, we present it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've adjusted the recipe to make it more suitable for a home kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Yields 1 litre, to serve 10-12 people.
You Will Need
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Instructions
Put everything in a sizeable jug. Include 130g water, stir to combine, then put it in the fridge. You can store it for as long as a few weeks.
To serve, measure out approximately 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a rocks glass containing ice (traditionally one large cube). Enjoy straight away. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers for authenticity.
