Cocktail of the Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Legend claims that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his team would win over a visiting English squad. To gain the upper hand, he hosted a splendid party the night before the match, where he served his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are notoriously large four-finger measure whisky servings, traditionally gauged from little finger to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being extremely hungover and, inevitably, defeated the day after. In this way, the legend of the Patiala peg came to be.
This inspired kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from the Maharaja's concoction. At the restaurant, we present it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've modified the formula to make it easier for a household kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Makes 1 litre, serving 10-12 people.
What's Required
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Put all the ingredients in a large bottle. Add 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then place it in the fridge. You can store it for as long as three weeks.
For serving, pour roughly 90ml of the infused whisky into a rocks glass containing ice (ideally one large cube). Serve immediately. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers as they did.
