Drink for This Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe
Legend claims that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his team would triumph over a visiting English team. To gain the upper hand, he hosted a grand party on the eve of the match, at which he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were incredibly substantial four-finger measure whisky servings, historically gauged from little finger to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being very the worse for wear and, inevitably, vanquished the day after. And so, the story of the Patiala peg was born.
This inspired variation of old fashioned takes its cue from the Maharaja's concoction. In our establishment, we serve it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it more suitable for a home kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Produces 1 litre, to serve 10-12 drinks.
You Will Need
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Put everything in a large bottle. Add 130g water, mix to combine, then transfer it in the fridge. It can be stored for up to three weeks.
When ready to drink, pour about 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a old fashioned glass packed with ice (ideally one big block). Drink immediately. If you're feeling traditional, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
