Cocktail for This Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe
Tale has it that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his team would triumph over a touring English squad. To secure an advantage, he organized a lavish party the night before the match, where he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were incredibly substantial four-finger measure whisky servings, traditionally gauged from pinky to forefinger. As expected, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being terribly the worse for wear and, consequently, defeated the following day. In this way, the legend of the Patiala peg originated.
This take on a kind-of old fashioned takes its cue from that original concoction. In our establishment, we present it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've adapted the instructions to make it better suited for a household environment.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, enough for 10-12 people.
You Will Need
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Combine all the ingredients in a sizeable jug. Pour in 130g water, mix thoroughly, then put it in the fridge. It can be stored for up to a few weeks.
For serving, pour approximately 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a rocks glass packed with ice (ideally one large cube). Drink immediately. If you're feeling traditional, you could measure it in by hand for authenticity.
