Drink for This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Tale suggests that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his team would succeed over a visiting English side. To secure an advantage, he organized a lavish party on the eve of the match, at which he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were notoriously generous four-finger measure whisky servings, customarily measured from pinky to forefinger. Predictably, the English players partook excessively, leaving them extremely hungover and, inevitably, beaten the next day. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg originated.
This inspired spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from Singh's concoction. Here, we serve it from a bespoke five-litre bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it more suitable for a domestic kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Produces 1 litre, enough for 10-12 people.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1â…“ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about â…• tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Instructions
Combine everything in a sizeable jug. Add 130g water, mix until fully incorporated, then transfer it in the fridge. It will now keep for up to three weeks.
For serving, measure out approximately 90ml of the infused whisky into a old fashioned glass filled with ice (ideally one large cube). Enjoy straight away. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
