Drink of the Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Tale has it that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his team would win over a touring English team. To secure an advantage, he organized a splendid party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were incredibly generous four-finger whisky servings, customarily poured from pinky to index finger. Predictably, the English players overindulged, leaving them terribly hungover and, inevitably, vanquished the following day. And so, the legend of the Patiala peg came to be.
This take on a variation of old fashioned is inspired by that original beverage. At the restaurant, we serve it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've adapted the instructions to make it more suitable for a domestic setting.
Patiala Peg
Makes 1 litre, to serve 10-12 people.
You Will Need
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Place everything in a sizeable jug. Add 130g water, agitate thoroughly, then transfer it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for as long as a few weeks.
When ready to drink, dispense about 90ml of the infused whisky into a rocks glass filled with ice (preferably one big block). Enjoy straight away. If you're feeling traditional, you could measure it in by hand instead.
