Cocktail This Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe
Folklore suggests that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his cricket team would triumph over a visiting English team. To secure an advantage, he threw a grand party on the eve of the match, at which he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were notoriously generous four-finger measure whisky pours, customarily gauged from little finger to index finger. Unsurprisingly, the English players partook excessively, resulting in them being extremely hungover and, consequently, vanquished the day after. Thus, the story of the Patiala peg came to be.
This inspired kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from that original drink. Here, we serve it from a bespoke five-litre bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it easier for a household environment.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, enough for 10-12 portions.
What's Required
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Instructions
Put all the ingredients in a large bottle. Include 130g water, stir until fully incorporated, then put it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for as long as 21 days.
When ready to drink, pour roughly 90ml of the infused whisky into a old fashioned glass packed with ice (ideally one large cube). Enjoy immediately. If you're feeling traditional, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
