Drink This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe
Legend has it that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was set that his team would triumph over a touring English squad. To secure an advantage, he hosted a grand party the night before the match, at which he presented his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These are incredibly substantial four-finger whisky pours, traditionally poured from little finger to index finger. Predictably, the English players drank too much, leaving them very hungover and, inevitably, beaten the next day. In this way, the legend of the Patiala peg was born.
This inspired kind-of old fashioned draws inspiration from the Maharaja's concoction. Here, we serve it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've adjusted the formula to make it better suited for a domestic setting.
Patiala Peg
Makes 1 litre, enough for 10-12 people.
You Will Need
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Place everything in a big container. Pour in 130g water, agitate to combine, then place it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for as long as a few weeks.
When ready to drink, pour roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass packed with ice (ideally one large cube). Serve straight away. To honour tradition, you could use the four-finger measure instead.
