Drink of the Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Tale claims that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his cricket team would win over a touring English squad. For a competitive edge, he hosted a lavish party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were famously large four-finger measure whisky servings, customarily gauged from little finger to index finger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being extremely the worse for wear and, inevitably, defeated the day after. Thus, the story of the Patiala peg was born.
This take on a variation of Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from Singh's beverage. Here, we present it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've adjusted the formula to make it more suitable for a household setting.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 drinks.
Ingredients
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Combine everything in a sizeable jug. Pour in 130g water, agitate to combine, then place it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for up to 21 days.
To serve, dispense about 90ml of the infused whisky into a old fashioned glass filled with ice (traditionally one large cube). Serve straight away. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
