Cocktail This Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe
Folklore claims that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his team would win over a touring English squad. For a competitive edge, he organized a lavish party on the eve of the match, where he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were famously large four-finger measure whisky servings, traditionally gauged from little finger to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being extremely the worse for wear and, consequently, defeated the following day. Thus, the story of the Patiala peg came to be.
This inspired variation of Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from Singh's beverage. At the restaurant, we serve it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it more suitable for a household kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.
What's Required
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Place all the ingredients in a big container. Include 130g water, agitate thoroughly, then put it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for about a few weeks.
For serving, measure out roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a short glass containing ice (traditionally one big block). Serve promptly. For a traditional touch, you could measure it in by hand as they did.
