Drink of the Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Folklore suggests that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his cricket team would succeed over a visiting English side. For a competitive edge, he hosted a splendid party on the eve of the match, where he offered his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are notoriously large four-finger measure whisky pours, traditionally measured from pinky to forefinger. Predictably, the English players drank too much, leaving them terribly hungover and, consequently, beaten the following day. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg originated.
This Punjabi kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from Singh's concoction. Here, we offer it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it more suitable for a household environment.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.
You Will Need
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Instructions
Place all the ingredients in a big container. Add 130g water, mix to combine, then place it in the refrigerator. You can store it for about three weeks.
For serving, measure out roughly 90ml of the infused whisky into a rocks glass filled with ice (preferably one large cube). Drink promptly. For a traditional touch, you could use the four-finger measure instead.
