Cocktail of the Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Legend suggests that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his team would win over a visiting English team. To gain the upper hand, he threw a lavish party on the eve of the match, at which he served his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are notoriously large four-finger whisky pours, historically poured from little finger to index finger. Predictably, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being very hungover and, consequently, vanquished the day after. In this way, the legend of the Patiala peg was born.
This inspired spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from that original concoction. At the restaurant, we present it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've modified the formula to make it better suited for a household setting.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 drinks.
You Will Need
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Method
Put everything in a big container. Pour in 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then put it in the fridge. It can be stored for as long as a few weeks.
When ready to drink, dispense roughly 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a rocks glass containing ice (traditionally one large cube). Drink promptly. For a traditional touch, you could measure it in by hand as they did.
