Drink for This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Tale has it that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was set that his cricket team would succeed over a touring English side. To secure an advantage, he hosted a grand party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are famously large four-finger whisky pours, customarily poured from pinky to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, leaving them extremely hungover and, inevitably, beaten the day after. And so, the legend of the Patiala peg was born.
This inspired kind-of old fashioned is inspired by Singh's beverage. Here, we offer it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it easier for a household kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Produces 1 litre, to serve 10-12 portions.
What's Required
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Put everything in a big container. Include 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then place it in the refrigerator. You can store it for up to a few weeks.
To serve, dispense approximately 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass filled with ice (ideally one large cube). Enjoy immediately. If you're feeling traditional, you could use the four-finger measure as they did.
