Cocktail of the Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Tale suggests that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his team would win over a visiting English team. To secure an advantage, he threw a splendid party on the eve of the match, where he served his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were incredibly large four-finger measure whisky servings, traditionally measured from little finger to forefinger. As expected, the English players partook excessively, leaving them terribly hungover and, consequently, defeated the day after. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg originated.
This Punjabi variation of Old Fashioned cocktail is inspired by the Maharaja's drink. At the restaurant, we present it from a bespoke five-litre bottle, but we've modified the formula to make it better suited for a household kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 people.
You Will Need
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Preparation
Put all the ingredients in a large bottle. Pour in 130g water, stir thoroughly, then place it in the refrigerator. You can store it for about three weeks.
For serving, dispense approximately 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a old fashioned glass packed with ice (traditionally one big block). Drink immediately. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers as they did.
