Cocktail for This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Legend has it that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his cricket team would triumph over a visiting English side. To secure an advantage, he threw a lavish party on the eve of the match, at which he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are famously generous four-finger measure whisky pours, customarily measured from pinky to index finger. Predictably, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being very the worse for wear and, consequently, vanquished the next day. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg was born.
This Punjabi kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from Singh's beverage. At the restaurant, we offer it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it easier for a domestic kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Makes 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Put everything in a big container. Add 130g water, mix thoroughly, then place it in the refrigerator. You can store it for about three weeks.
To serve, measure out roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a old fashioned glass filled with ice (ideally one big block). Serve promptly. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers instead.