Cocktail for This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Tale claims that back in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his team would succeed over a visiting English team. To gain the upper hand, he hosted a grand party on the eve of the match, at which he presented his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were famously generous four-finger measure whisky servings, customarily gauged from little finger to forefinger. As expected, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being terribly hungover and, inevitably, beaten the following day. And so, the legend of the Patiala peg originated.
This Punjabi kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail is inspired by the Maharaja's concoction. At the restaurant, we serve it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've adapted the formula to make it better suited for a home environment.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Produces 1 litre, enough for 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Put all the ingredients in a large bottle. Add 130g water, stir thoroughly, then put it in the fridge. It can be stored for up to a few weeks.
To serve, measure out roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a short glass filled with ice (preferably one large cube). Serve immediately. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers for authenticity.
