Drink for This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Tale suggests that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his team would succeed over a visiting English squad. To gain the upper hand, he hosted a lavish party the night before the match, at which he served his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were incredibly generous four-finger measure whisky pours, traditionally poured from little finger to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, leaving them terribly the worse for wear and, consequently, defeated the next day. In this way, the myth of the Patiala peg was born.
This take on a variation of old fashioned is inspired by that original beverage. At the restaurant, we serve it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've adjusted the recipe to make it easier for a domestic kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, to serve 10-12 people.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Combine everything in a large bottle. Include 130g water, stir thoroughly, then place it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for up to three weeks.
To serve, pour approximately 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a rocks glass filled with ice (traditionally one big block). Enjoy immediately. If you're feeling traditional, you could use the four-finger measure for authenticity.
