Cocktail This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Legend has it that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his cricket team would win over a visiting English squad. To gain the upper hand, he organized a lavish party the night before the match, at which he served his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were incredibly substantial four-finger whisky pours, traditionally poured from pinky to forefinger. Predictably, the English players overindulged, leaving them extremely hungover and, inevitably, vanquished the following day. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg came to be.
This take on a variation of Old Fashioned cocktail is inspired by that original concoction. In our establishment, we serve it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've adapted the formula to make it easier for a home kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Produces 1 litre, enough for 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Instructions
Place everything in a large bottle. Include 130g water, agitate to combine, then place it in the fridge. You can store it for as long as three weeks.
To serve, dispense approximately 90ml of the infused whisky into a short glass containing ice (traditionally one big block). Enjoy immediately. For a traditional touch, you could use the four-finger measure instead.
