Drink for This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Tale claims that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his cricket team would win over a touring English team. For a competitive edge, he hosted a lavish party on the eve of the match, at which he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were famously large four-finger measure whisky pours, customarily gauged from little finger to index finger. As expected, the English players partook excessively, resulting in them being terribly the worse for wear and, consequently, beaten the next day. And so, the story of the Patiala peg originated.
This take on a spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from Singh's drink. In our establishment, we offer it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it more suitable for a domestic environment.
Patiala Peg
Produces 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Preparation
Put everything in a big container. Add 130g water, stir to combine, then put it in the refrigerator. You can store it for about a few weeks.
For serving, pour approximately 90ml of the infused whisky into a short glass packed with ice (traditionally one large cube). Serve immediately. For a traditional touch, you could use the four-finger measure as they did.
