Cocktail of the Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Folklore suggests that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his team would succeed over a touring English team. To secure an advantage, he hosted a splendid party on the eve of the match, at which he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were incredibly substantial four-finger measure whisky pours, traditionally gauged from pinky to forefinger. Predictably, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being extremely the worse for wear and, consequently, beaten the next day. And so, the story of the Patiala peg came to be.
This take on a variation of Old Fashioned cocktail is inspired by the Maharaja's concoction. At the restaurant, we serve it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it easier for a domestic environment.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.
You Will Need
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Put all the ingredients in a sizeable jug. Include 130g water, stir thoroughly, then place it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for about 21 days.
For serving, measure out about 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a short glass filled with ice (traditionally one big block). Drink promptly. To honour tradition, you could use the four-finger measure instead.
