Cocktail This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Tale suggests that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his team would succeed over a touring English side. To secure an advantage, he organized a lavish party on the eve of the match, where he served his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were incredibly generous four-finger measure whisky servings, customarily poured from little finger to index finger. Predictably, the English players drank too much, leaving them very the worse for wear and, inevitably, vanquished the following day. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg originated.
This Punjabi kind-of old fashioned takes its cue from the Maharaja's beverage. In our establishment, we present it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've modified the formula to make it easier for a home kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Produces 1 litre, to serve 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Place all the ingredients in a large bottle. Pour in 130g water, agitate thoroughly, then transfer it in the refrigerator. You can store it for about 21 days.
For serving, pour about 90ml of the infused whisky into a short glass containing ice (ideally one large cube). Enjoy promptly. For a traditional touch, you could measure it in by hand for authenticity.