Cocktail of the Week: The Patiala Peg β How to Make It
Legend suggests that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was set that his cricket team would succeed over a visiting English side. To secure an advantage, he organized a lavish party on the eve of the match, at which he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are incredibly large four-finger measure whisky pours, traditionally measured from little finger to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players overindulged, leaving them terribly the worse for wear and, inevitably, defeated the next day. And so, the myth of the Patiala peg was born.
This Punjabi kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from the Maharaja's concoction. At the restaurant, we serve it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've adapted the instructions to make it better suited for a domestic environment.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.
You Will Need
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1β tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about β tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Method
Put everything in a large bottle. Pour in 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then put it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for about three weeks.
When ready to drink, dispense about 90ml of the infused whisky into a rocks glass filled with ice (ideally one large cube). Drink promptly. To honour tradition, you could use the four-finger measure as they did.
