Drink This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It
Tale suggests that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his team would succeed over a touring English team. To gain the upper hand, he threw a grand party on the eve of the match, where he served his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These are famously generous four-finger measure whisky pours, traditionally gauged from pinky to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players partook excessively, resulting in them being very the worse for wear and, inevitably, beaten the next day. And so, the legend of the Patiala peg came to be.
This take on a kind-of old fashioned draws inspiration from that original drink. At the restaurant, we present it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've adapted the instructions to make it easier for a household setting.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 drinks.
Ingredients
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Instructions
Put all the ingredients in a big container. Include 130g water, agitate to combine, then put it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for up to a few weeks.
When ready to drink, measure out approximately 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a old fashioned glass packed with ice (preferably one large cube). Enjoy straight away. If you're feeling traditional, you could use the four-finger measure instead.
