Drink for This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Folklore has it that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his cricket team would triumph over a touring English team. To secure an advantage, he hosted a lavish party on the eve of the match, at which he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are famously substantial four-finger measure whisky servings, traditionally measured from pinky to index finger. As expected, the English players overindulged, leaving them terribly hungover and, inevitably, beaten the day after. Thus, the story of the Patiala peg was born.
This take on a kind-of old fashioned draws inspiration from Singh's drink. In our establishment, we offer it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've adjusted the instructions to make it more suitable for a home kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Produces 1 litre, enough for 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Instructions
Put all the ingredients in a big container. Add 130g water, agitate to combine, then transfer it in the fridge. You can store it for up to a few weeks.
To serve, dispense about 90ml of the infused whisky into a short glass containing ice (preferably one big block). Drink immediately. If you're feeling traditional, you could measure it in by hand as they did.
