Cocktail for This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Tale has it that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was set that his cricket team would triumph over a touring English team. To gain the upper hand, he threw a splendid party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were famously generous four-finger measure whisky pours, customarily measured from pinky to forefinger. As expected, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being extremely hungover and, consequently, vanquished the following day. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg originated.
This Punjabi variation of Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from Singh's beverage. In our establishment, we serve it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it better suited for a household environment.
Patiala Peg
Makes 1 litre, to serve 10-12 portions.
What's Required
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Place everything in a large bottle. Add 130g water, stir thoroughly, then place it in the fridge. It can be stored for about a few weeks.
For serving, measure out roughly 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a rocks glass filled with ice (ideally one big block). Enjoy straight away. For a traditional touch, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
