Cocktail for This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Folklore claims that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was set that his cricket team would triumph over a touring English team. For a competitive edge, he threw a grand party the night before the match, at which he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were incredibly substantial four-finger measure whisky pours, customarily measured from little finger to index finger. As expected, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being very hungover and, inevitably, vanquished the following day. Thus, the story of the Patiala peg came to be.
This inspired kind-of old fashioned draws inspiration from Singh's beverage. In our establishment, we offer it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it easier for a home environment.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, to serve 10-12 drinks.
You Will Need
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Method
Combine everything in a sizeable jug. Add 130g water, mix to combine, then put it in the refrigerator. You can store it for as long as a few weeks.
To serve, measure out approximately 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a old fashioned glass containing ice (ideally one big block). Enjoy straight away. If you're feeling traditional, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
