Drink This Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe
Legend has it that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his cricket team would succeed over a visiting English squad. To secure an advantage, he hosted a splendid party on the eve of the match, at which he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are notoriously generous four-finger whisky servings, traditionally poured from little finger to index finger. Predictably, the English players overindulged, leaving them very hungover and, inevitably, vanquished the day after. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg was born.
This Punjabi kind-of old fashioned takes its cue from the Maharaja's beverage. In our establishment, we offer it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've adjusted the formula to make it better suited for a domestic environment.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 drinks.
What's Required
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Preparation
Combine everything in a sizeable jug. Include 130g water, agitate to combine, then place it in the fridge. It will now keep for up to three weeks.
For serving, pour about 90ml of the infused whisky into a old fashioned glass packed with ice (preferably one big block). Drink immediately. If you're feeling traditional, you could use the four-finger measure as they did.
