Drink for This Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe
Legend has it that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his cricket team would succeed over a visiting English side. For a competitive edge, he threw a grand party the night before the match, at which he served his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are notoriously generous four-finger whisky pours, historically gauged from little finger to index finger. Predictably, the English players overindulged, leaving them very the worse for wear and, inevitably, vanquished the following day. In this way, the legend of the Patiala peg was born.
This Punjabi variation of Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from that original drink. In our establishment, we offer it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've adjusted the recipe to make it better suited for a household environment.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 people.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Place everything in a large bottle. Pour in 130g water, mix until fully incorporated, then transfer it in the fridge. It will now keep for as long as 21 days.
For serving, measure out about 90ml of the infused whisky into a short glass containing ice (traditionally one large cube). Drink promptly. If you're feeling traditional, you could use the four-finger measure for authenticity.
