Cocktail This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Tale suggests that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was set that his cricket team would win over a touring English team. For a competitive edge, he hosted a lavish party the night before the match, where he served his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These are notoriously generous four-finger measure whisky pours, traditionally gauged from pinky to index finger. Predictably, the English players partook excessively, leaving them very the worse for wear and, inevitably, beaten the following day. Thus, the myth of the Patiala peg was born.
This Punjabi spin on the old fashioned draws inspiration from that original beverage. In our establishment, we present it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've modified the formula to make it better suited for a household environment.
Patiala Peg
Makes 1 litre, serving 10-12 drinks.
You Will Need
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Instructions
Combine everything in a sizeable jug. Add 130g water, mix until fully incorporated, then put it in the fridge. It will now keep for as long as a few weeks.
When ready to drink, pour roughly 90ml of the infused whisky into a short glass filled with ice (preferably one big block). Enjoy promptly. To honour tradition, you could measure it in by hand as they did.
