Cocktail of the Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Legend has it that back in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was set that his team would succeed over a touring English team. To secure an advantage, he hosted a grand party the night before the match, at which he served his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were famously substantial four-finger measure whisky servings, traditionally gauged from little finger to index finger. Unsurprisingly, the English players overindulged, leaving them terribly hungover and, inevitably, beaten the day after. In this way, the myth of the Patiala peg came to be.
This Punjabi kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from Singh's drink. At the restaurant, we offer it from a bespoke five-litre bottle, but we've adjusted the formula to make it better suited for a domestic kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Makes 1 litre, serving 10-12 drinks.
Ingredients
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Method
Combine all the ingredients in a large bottle. Pour in 130g water, mix thoroughly, then put it in the refrigerator. You can store it for as long as a few weeks.
To serve, dispense approximately 90ml of the infused whisky into a old fashioned glass containing ice (ideally one large cube). Drink immediately. If you're feeling traditional, you could pour it using your fingers for authenticity.
