Cocktail of the Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Folklore suggests that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his team would win over a touring English team. To gain the upper hand, he threw a splendid party the night before the match, at which he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were famously large four-finger measure whisky pours, customarily measured from pinky to index finger. As expected, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being extremely hungover and, inevitably, beaten the day after. Thus, the story of the Patiala peg came to be.
This take on a kind-of old fashioned takes its cue from the Maharaja's beverage. Here, we offer it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've adapted the instructions to make it better suited for a home setting.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Place all the ingredients in a sizeable jug. Add 130g water, mix until fully incorporated, then put it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for up to a few weeks.
For serving, dispense about 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a short glass packed with ice (traditionally one big block). Serve promptly. If you're feeling traditional, you could pour it using your fingers as they did.
