Cocktail This Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe
Folklore has it that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his team would succeed over a touring English squad. For a competitive edge, he hosted a grand party on the eve of the match, at which he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are incredibly generous four-finger whisky pours, customarily measured from little finger to index finger. As expected, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being extremely the worse for wear and, inevitably, defeated the next day. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg came to be.
This take on a kind-of old fashioned takes its cue from the Maharaja's beverage. Here, we offer it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've adjusted the formula to make it more suitable for a home environment.
Patiala Peg
Produces 1 litre, serving 10-12 drinks.
You Will Need
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Put everything in a large bottle. Include 130g water, mix to combine, then put it in the fridge. You can store it for about three weeks.
To serve, dispense roughly 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a old fashioned glass packed with ice (ideally one big block). Enjoy promptly. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
