Cocktail This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Tale claims that back in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his cricket team would succeed over a touring English squad. For a competitive edge, he threw a splendid party on the eve of the match, where he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are incredibly large four-finger measure whisky servings, traditionally poured from pinky to forefinger. As expected, the English players partook excessively, resulting in them being terribly the worse for wear and, consequently, beaten the next day. In this way, the legend of the Patiala peg originated.
This Punjabi kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from Singh's beverage. Here, we present it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've adjusted the recipe to make it better suited for a home kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Makes 1 litre, to serve 10-12 people.
You Will Need
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Place all the ingredients in a big container. Include 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then put it in the refrigerator. You can store it for as long as a few weeks.
To serve, measure out about 90ml of the infused whisky into a old fashioned glass packed with ice (traditionally one large cube). Drink straight away. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers for authenticity.
