Drink for This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Tale claims that back in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was set that his cricket team would win over a visiting English squad. To secure an advantage, he organized a splendid party the night before the match, where he served his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are incredibly large four-finger whisky servings, traditionally gauged from pinky to index finger. Predictably, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being terribly hungover and, consequently, vanquished the following day. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg was born.
This take on a spin on the old fashioned draws inspiration from Singh's beverage. At the restaurant, we offer it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it better suited for a domestic environment.
Patiala Peg
Produces 1 litre, to serve 10-12 portions.
You Will Need
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Put all the ingredients in a big container. Include 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then put it in the fridge. It can be stored for up to 21 days.
When ready to drink, measure out approximately 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass packed with ice (ideally one large cube). Enjoy promptly. To honour tradition, you could measure it in by hand instead.
