Cocktail of the Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Folklore suggests that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his cricket team would win over a visiting English team. To secure an advantage, he threw a splendid party the night before the match, at which he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were famously substantial four-finger whisky pours, traditionally gauged from little finger to index finger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, leaving them terribly hungover and, inevitably, defeated the day after. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg came to be.
This inspired spin on the old fashioned takes its cue from Singh's drink. In our establishment, we serve it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it more suitable for a household kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Produces 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.
You Will Need
- 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 everything in a sizeable jug. Pour in 130g water, mix to combine, then transfer it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for as long as a few weeks.
When ready to drink, dispense roughly 90ml of the infused whisky into a old fashioned glass containing ice (ideally one large cube). Enjoy immediately. To honour tradition, you could use the four-finger measure instead.
