Drink for This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Folklore claims that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was set that his cricket team would win over a touring English team. To secure an advantage, he hosted a grand party on the eve of the match, at which he presented his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These are incredibly large four-finger measure whisky pours, customarily gauged from little finger to index finger. As expected, the English players drank too much, leaving them terribly the worse for wear and, inevitably, beaten the following day. In this way, the legend of the Patiala peg originated.
This inspired kind-of old fashioned is inspired by Singh's drink. Here, we serve it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it easier for a home setting.
Patiala Peg
Makes 1 litre, enough for 10-12 portions.
What's Required
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1â…“ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately â…• tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Preparation
Place everything in a large bottle. Include 130g water, agitate thoroughly, then transfer it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for as long as three weeks.
When ready to drink, dispense about 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass containing ice (traditionally one big block). Enjoy immediately. If you're feeling traditional, you could use the four-finger measure as they did.
