Cocktail for This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Folklore suggests that back in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his team would win over a visiting English side. To secure an advantage, he hosted a splendid party on the eve of the match, at which he offered his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are notoriously large four-finger measure whisky pours, historically gauged from pinky to index finger. Predictably, the English players partook excessively, resulting in them being very the worse for wear and, consequently, vanquished the following day. In this way, the legend of the Patiala peg came to be.
This take on a variation of Old Fashioned cocktail is inspired by Singh's beverage. At the restaurant, we present it from a bespoke five-litre bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it more suitable for a home setting.
Patiala Peg
Produces 1 litre, to serve 10-12 drinks.
Ingredients
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Method
Combine everything in a big container. Pour in 130g water, stir to combine, then put it in the fridge. It can be stored for up to 21 days.
To serve, measure out roughly 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a short glass containing ice (ideally one large cube). Enjoy straight away. For a traditional touch, you could measure it in by hand for authenticity.
