Drink of the Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Legend suggests that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his cricket team would win over a visiting English squad. To secure an advantage, he hosted a splendid party the night before the match, where he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are notoriously substantial four-finger whisky servings, historically poured from little finger to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players partook excessively, resulting in them being extremely the worse for wear and, inevitably, defeated the day after. In this way, the legend of the Patiala peg was born.
This Punjabi spin on the old fashioned draws inspiration from Singh's beverage. Here, we offer it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've modified the formula to make it easier for a home setting.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, to serve 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Preparation
Place all the ingredients in a big container. Pour in 130g water, agitate to combine, then transfer it in the fridge. It will now keep for about three weeks.
To serve, dispense about 90ml of the infused whisky into a short glass packed with ice (ideally one big block). Enjoy promptly. If you're feeling traditional, you could pour it using your fingers as they did.
