Drink This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Legend claims that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his cricket team would triumph over a touring English squad. To secure an advantage, he threw a splendid party the night before the match, where he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were notoriously substantial four-finger measure whisky servings, traditionally poured from pinky to forefinger. Predictably, the English players overindulged, leaving them terribly hungover and, inevitably, vanquished the day after. Thus, the story of the Patiala peg was born.
This Punjabi kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail is inspired by that original concoction. Here, we offer it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it more suitable for a domestic setting.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Produces 1 litre, to serve 10-12 drinks.
What's Required
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Place all the ingredients in a big container. Pour in 130g water, mix thoroughly, then transfer it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for as long as a few weeks.
To serve, dispense roughly 90ml of the infused whisky into a rocks glass filled with ice (ideally one large cube). Drink straight away. If you're feeling traditional, you could use the four-finger measure instead.
