Cocktail of the Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Folklore claims that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his cricket team would win over a visiting English side. To secure an advantage, he hosted a lavish party on the eve of the match, where he presented his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were notoriously large four-finger measure whisky pours, customarily poured from pinky to forefinger. As expected, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being extremely the worse for wear and, inevitably, defeated the day after. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg came to be.
This take on a kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail is inspired by the Maharaja's beverage. At the restaurant, we serve it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've modified the formula to make it easier for a domestic kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Produces 1 litre, serving 10-12 people.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Instructions
Place all the ingredients in a sizeable jug. Include 130g water, mix thoroughly, then place it in the fridge. It will now keep for as long as three weeks.
To serve, pour roughly 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a short glass containing ice (ideally one large cube). Drink immediately. To honour tradition, you could measure it in by hand for authenticity.
