Cocktail This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Legend claims that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his cricket team would triumph over a touring English team. To secure an advantage, he hosted a grand party on the eve of the match, at which he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are incredibly large four-finger measure whisky pours, traditionally measured from little finger to forefinger. As expected, the English players partook excessively, resulting in them being very the worse for wear and, consequently, defeated the following day. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg came to be.
This inspired variation of old fashioned takes its cue from Singh's drink. At the restaurant, we serve it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it better suited for a home environment.
Patiala Peg
Produces 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.
You Will Need
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Place everything in a big container. Pour in 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then put it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for up to a few weeks.
For serving, measure out about 90ml of the infused whisky into a short glass packed with ice (traditionally one large cube). Serve promptly. For a traditional touch, you could use the four-finger measure instead.
