Cocktail for This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Legend suggests that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his team would succeed over a touring English side. To secure an advantage, he threw a splendid party the night before the match, at which he offered his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were famously substantial four-finger measure whisky pours, historically poured from little finger to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being terribly hungover and, consequently, defeated the day after. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg came to be.
This Punjabi kind-of old fashioned is inspired by that original concoction. In our establishment, we offer it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've adjusted the recipe to make it better suited for a domestic environment.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Makes 1 litre, enough for 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Method
Put everything in a big container. Pour in 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then transfer it in the fridge. It will now keep for as long as 21 days.
For serving, measure out about 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a rocks glass containing ice (traditionally one large cube). Enjoy promptly. To honour tradition, you could measure it in by hand for authenticity.
