Cocktail for This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Tale claims that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his cricket team would triumph over a visiting English squad. To gain the upper hand, he threw a grand party on the eve of the match, at which he served his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were notoriously large four-finger whisky servings, customarily gauged from little finger to index finger. Unsurprisingly, the English players partook excessively, leaving them extremely hungover and, inevitably, beaten the day after. And so, the myth of the Patiala peg was born.
This inspired variation of old fashioned takes its cue from that original beverage. In our establishment, we offer it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it better suited for a domestic setting.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.
You Will Need
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Preparation
Combine all the ingredients in a large bottle. Add 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then put it in the fridge. It can be stored for about three weeks.
For serving, pour roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass filled with ice (ideally one large cube). Serve promptly. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers for authenticity.
