Cocktail for This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Folklore suggests that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his cricket team would triumph over a visiting English side. To gain the upper hand, he hosted a lavish party on the eve of the match, at which he served his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are incredibly generous four-finger whisky pours, traditionally gauged from pinky to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, leaving them very the worse for wear and, inevitably, vanquished the day after. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg originated.
This Punjabi kind-of old fashioned takes its cue from that original concoction. Here, we serve it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it more suitable for a household environment.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Combine all the ingredients in a large bottle. Pour in 130g water, mix to combine, then place it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for up to 21 days.
When ready to drink, pour approximately 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a short glass containing ice (traditionally one big block). Enjoy promptly. To honour tradition, you could measure it in by hand as they did.
