Cocktail of the Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe
Tale has it that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his team would win over a visiting English squad. For a competitive edge, he threw a splendid party the night before the match, at which he served his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are famously large four-finger whisky pours, traditionally gauged from pinky to index finger. Unsurprisingly, the English players partook excessively, leaving them terribly hungover and, inevitably, beaten the following day. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg originated.
This inspired spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from that original drink. At the restaurant, we offer it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've modified the formula to make it better suited for a household kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 drinks.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Place all the ingredients in a big container. Add 130g water, mix to combine, then place it in the fridge. You can store it for about three weeks.
For serving, dispense roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass containing ice (traditionally one big block). Enjoy straight away. To honour tradition, you could measure it in by hand as they did.
