Cocktail for This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Legend suggests that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his team would win over a visiting English side. To gain the upper hand, he threw a grand party the night before the match, where he offered his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were notoriously large four-finger whisky servings, traditionally poured from pinky to forefinger. As expected, the English players partook excessively, leaving them extremely the worse for wear and, consequently, vanquished the next day. In this way, the legend of the Patiala peg originated.
This Punjabi variation 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 adapted the recipe to make it more suitable for a home kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.
You Will Need
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Instructions
Put all the ingredients in a big container. Add 130g water, mix to combine, then put it in the refrigerator. You can store it for up to a few weeks.
For serving, pour roughly 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a rocks glass containing ice (preferably one big block). Drink promptly. If you're feeling traditional, you could measure it in by hand as they did.
