Drink for This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Tale claims that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his team would triumph over a visiting English squad. For a competitive edge, he hosted a grand party on the eve of the match, where he served his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were famously substantial four-finger whisky pours, customarily gauged from little finger to forefinger. Predictably, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being very the worse for wear and, inevitably, vanquished the day after. Thus, the story of the Patiala peg was born.
This inspired spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from the Maharaja's drink. Here, we offer it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it better suited for a domestic kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, to serve 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Instructions
Combine everything in a big container. Add 130g water, mix until fully incorporated, then place it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for up to three weeks.
To serve, pour approximately 90ml of the infused whisky into a old fashioned glass containing ice (traditionally one large cube). Serve promptly. If you're feeling traditional, you could use the four-finger measure as they did.
