Drink This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Legend claims that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his cricket team would succeed over a visiting English squad. To gain the upper hand, he organized a grand party the night before the match, where he offered his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were incredibly large four-finger whisky pours, customarily measured from little finger to index finger. As expected, the English players partook excessively, resulting in them being terribly the worse for wear and, consequently, defeated the day after. Thus, the story of the Patiala peg was born.
This inspired spin on the old fashioned takes its cue from the Maharaja's beverage. In our establishment, we serve it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've adjusted the instructions to make it better suited for a household kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Produces 1 litre, to serve 10-12 people.
What's Required
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Instructions
Combine all the ingredients in a large bottle. Pour in 130g water, agitate to combine, then transfer it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for about a few weeks.
For serving, dispense about 90ml of the infused whisky into a old fashioned glass filled with ice (ideally one large cube). Drink straight away. For a traditional touch, you could measure it in by hand instead.
