Cocktail This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Legend claims that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his cricket team would succeed over a visiting English squad. To gain the upper hand, he hosted a lavish party on the eve of the match, at which he served his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are famously substantial four-finger measure whisky pours, customarily gauged from pinky to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players partook excessively, resulting in them being terribly hungover and, inevitably, vanquished the following day. And so, the myth of the Patiala peg originated.
This Punjabi spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from that original beverage. In our establishment, we serve it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've modified the formula to make it better suited for a home kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Produces 1 litre, to serve 10-12 people.
Ingredients
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Put everything in a sizeable jug. Pour in 130g water, mix thoroughly, then transfer it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for up to a few weeks.
When ready to drink, dispense approximately 90ml of the infused whisky into a rocks glass filled with ice (preferably one big block). Serve straight away. If you're feeling traditional, you could use the four-finger measure as they did.
