Drink of the Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Legend suggests that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his team would triumph over a visiting English side. For a competitive edge, he hosted a lavish party the night before the match, at which he served his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were incredibly large four-finger whisky pours, customarily poured from little finger to forefinger. As expected, the English players drank too much, leaving them terribly hungover and, consequently, beaten the day after. Thus, the myth of the Patiala peg came to be.
This inspired kind-of old fashioned draws inspiration from the Maharaja's concoction. In our establishment, we present it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've adjusted the recipe to make it more suitable for a home kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Makes 1 litre, enough for 10-12 portions.
What's Required
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Preparation
Combine everything in a big container. Add 130g water, agitate thoroughly, then put it in the fridge. You can store it for as long as a few weeks.
To serve, dispense roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass containing ice (ideally one big block). Drink straight away. If you're feeling traditional, you could measure it in by hand as they did.