Cocktail for This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Legend suggests that back in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his cricket team would succeed over a touring English side. To gain the upper hand, he hosted a grand party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were famously generous four-finger whisky pours, historically gauged from pinky to index finger. As expected, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being extremely hungover and, consequently, vanquished the day after. And so, the story of the Patiala peg originated.
This take on a variation of Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from Singh's beverage. Here, we serve it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it better suited for a home setting.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Produces 1 litre, to serve 10-12 portions.
You Will Need
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Put everything in a large bottle. Add 130g water, stir to combine, then place it in the fridge. You can store it for as long as 21 days.
For serving, pour approximately 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a short glass packed with ice (preferably one large cube). Serve immediately. If you're feeling traditional, you could use the four-finger measure as they did.
