Drink of the Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe
Tale claims that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his team would succeed over a touring English team. For a competitive edge, he threw a lavish party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are notoriously large four-finger whisky pours, customarily measured from pinky to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being very the worse for wear and, consequently, defeated the next day. In this way, the legend of the Patiala peg originated.
This inspired variation of old fashioned takes its cue from the Maharaja's drink. Here, we offer it from a bespoke five-litre bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it easier for a household environment.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, to serve 10-12 drinks.
Ingredients
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Combine all the ingredients in a sizeable jug. Include 130g water, mix thoroughly, then put it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for about 21 days.
When ready to drink, measure out approximately 90ml of the infused whisky into a old fashioned glass containing ice (traditionally one big block). Serve immediately. To honour tradition, you could measure it in by hand for authenticity.
