Cocktail of the Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Legend suggests that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his team would succeed over a visiting English team. To secure an advantage, he threw a lavish party on the eve of the match, where he served his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were notoriously generous four-finger whisky servings, historically measured from little finger to index finger. Predictably, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being extremely hungover and, consequently, vanquished the next day. Thus, the story of the Patiala peg was born.
This inspired variation of old fashioned takes its cue from Singh's beverage. In our establishment, we offer it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it more suitable for a household environment.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Makes 1 litre, to serve 10-12 drinks.
What's Required
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Preparation
Place all the ingredients in a big container. Pour in 130g water, stir thoroughly, then transfer it in the fridge. You can store it for as long as a few weeks.
When ready to drink, measure out about 90ml of the infused whisky into a old fashioned glass filled with ice (traditionally one large cube). Enjoy immediately. To honour tradition, you could use the four-finger measure as they did.
