Cocktail of the Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Legend suggests that back in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his team would succeed over a visiting English team. To secure an advantage, he threw a lavish party on the eve of the match, where he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are famously substantial four-finger whisky servings, traditionally measured from pinky to forefinger. As expected, the English players drank too much, leaving them extremely the worse for wear and, inevitably, vanquished the next day. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg came to be.
This Punjabi spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from the Maharaja's drink. Here, we offer it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've adapted the formula to make it better suited for a domestic setting.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Yields 1 litre, to serve 10-12 people.
You Will Need
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Instructions
Put everything in a sizeable jug. Add 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then put it in the fridge. You can store it for about three weeks.
When ready to drink, measure out roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass packed with ice (ideally one large cube). Enjoy promptly. For a traditional touch, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
