Cocktail This Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe
Tale has it that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his team would succeed over a touring English team. To gain the upper hand, he threw a splendid party on the eve of the match, where he presented his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were incredibly generous four-finger whisky servings, customarily gauged from little finger to index finger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being terribly the worse for wear and, inevitably, defeated the day after. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg came to be.
This inspired variation of Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from Singh's beverage. Here, we present it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it better suited for a home kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Makes 1 litre, to serve 10-12 drinks.
You Will Need
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Method
Put all the ingredients in a big container. Include 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then place it in the refrigerator. You can store it for about 21 days.
When ready to drink, dispense about 90ml of the infused whisky into a short glass containing ice (ideally one big block). Enjoy promptly. If you're feeling traditional, you could pour it using your fingers for authenticity.
