Drink This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Tale has it that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his cricket team would win over a touring English side. To secure an advantage, he organized a lavish party the night before the match, where he offered his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were incredibly substantial four-finger measure whisky servings, historically measured from pinky to forefinger. Predictably, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being very the worse for wear and, consequently, vanquished the day after. And so, the story of the Patiala peg came to be.
This Punjabi kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from Singh's drink. At the restaurant, we serve it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've adjusted the instructions to make it easier for a home kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Yields 1 litre, to serve 10-12 drinks.
You Will Need
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Instructions
Place everything in a large bottle. Pour in 130g water, agitate to combine, then put it in the fridge. It will now keep for about three weeks.
When ready to drink, pour roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass containing ice (traditionally one large cube). Enjoy promptly. If you're feeling traditional, you could measure it in by hand for authenticity.