Cocktail for This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Tale claims that during 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 grand party the night before the match, at which he served his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are incredibly substantial four-finger measure whisky servings, customarily poured from pinky to index finger. Predictably, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being very hungover and, consequently, vanquished the next day. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg was born.
This take on a spin on the old fashioned draws inspiration from the Maharaja's drink. In our establishment, we present it from a bespoke five-litre bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it more suitable for a domestic kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Makes 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.
Ingredients
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Put all the ingredients in a sizeable jug. Include 130g water, mix until fully incorporated, then place it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for up to three weeks.
When ready to drink, dispense roughly 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a rocks glass filled with ice (ideally one big block). Enjoy straight away. To honour tradition, you could measure it in by hand instead.
