Drink This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Legend claims that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his team would triumph over a touring English side. To secure an advantage, he hosted a lavish party on the eve of the match, where he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are incredibly large four-finger whisky servings, historically gauged from little finger to forefinger. Predictably, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being terribly hungover and, inevitably, beaten the next day. Thus, the story of the Patiala peg came to be.
This Punjabi variation of Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from the Maharaja's concoction. Here, we serve it from a bespoke five-litre bottle, but we've adapted the formula to make it easier for a home kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 people.
You Will Need
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Instructions
Place everything in a large bottle. Add 130g water, agitate thoroughly, then put it in the fridge. You can store it for as long as 21 days.
To serve, dispense roughly 90ml of the infused whisky into a rocks glass containing ice (ideally one large cube). Enjoy promptly. For a traditional touch, you could use the four-finger measure as they did.
