Cocktail This Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe
Folklore claims that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his cricket team would succeed over a touring English squad. To secure an advantage, he organized a splendid party on the eve of the match, at which he presented his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These are famously large four-finger whisky servings, customarily measured from pinky to forefinger. Predictably, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being terribly the worse for wear and, inevitably, defeated the day after. And so, the legend of the Patiala peg came to be.
This Punjabi kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from that original beverage. At the restaurant, we serve it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've adjusted the instructions to make it easier for a household kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Makes 1 litre, to serve 10-12 portions.
What's Required
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g simple 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. Pour in 130g water, stir to combine, then transfer it in the fridge. It can be stored for about 21 days.
To serve, pour roughly 90ml of the infused whisky into a rocks glass packed with ice (ideally one large cube). Serve straight away. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers for authenticity.
