Drink This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Tale suggests that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his cricket team would win over a touring English squad. For a competitive edge, he hosted a splendid party the night before the match, where he served his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are notoriously substantial four-finger measure whisky servings, traditionally poured from little finger to index finger. Predictably, the English players overindulged, leaving them terribly the worse for wear and, consequently, defeated the following day. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg was born.
This take on a variation of old fashioned draws inspiration from that original drink. In our establishment, we present it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it more suitable for a household environment.
Patiala Peg
Makes 1 litre, serving 10-12 people.
What's Required
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Combine everything in a large bottle. Include 130g water, stir until fully incorporated, then place it in the fridge. You can store it for about a few weeks.
For serving, measure out roughly 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a short glass packed with ice (traditionally one large cube). Enjoy straight away. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers for authenticity.