Drink for This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Folklore suggests that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his team would succeed over a touring English squad. To gain the upper hand, he hosted a splendid party the night before the match, where he offered his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These are notoriously generous four-finger whisky pours, traditionally poured from little finger to index finger. As expected, the English players overindulged, leaving them terribly hungover and, consequently, vanquished the next day. Thus, the story of the Patiala peg was born.
This take on a spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from that original concoction. Here, we serve it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it more suitable for a domestic kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Yields 1 litre, enough for 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Combine everything in a large bottle. Include 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then place it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for about 21 days.
To serve, dispense about 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a short glass filled with ice (preferably one big block). Enjoy promptly. If you're feeling traditional, you could use the four-finger measure for authenticity.
