Drink This Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe
Tale suggests that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his team would triumph over a touring English squad. To gain the upper hand, he organized a splendid party on the eve of the match, at which he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are notoriously generous four-finger whisky servings, customarily poured from pinky to forefinger. As expected, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being extremely hungover and, inevitably, beaten the next day. In this way, the legend of the Patiala peg originated.
This take on a variation of Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from that original concoction. At the restaurant, we present it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it easier for a household environment.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Yields 1 litre, enough for 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Instructions
Combine all the ingredients in a sizeable jug. Include 130g water, mix thoroughly, then place it in the fridge. You can store it for up to a few weeks.
For serving, dispense roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a old fashioned glass packed with ice (ideally one big block). Drink immediately. To honour tradition, you could use the four-finger measure for authenticity.
