Drink This Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe
Legend has it that back in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his cricket team would win over a visiting English squad. To gain the upper hand, he threw a lavish party the night before the match, where he offered his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These are incredibly generous four-finger measure whisky servings, customarily measured from little finger to index finger. As expected, the English players partook excessively, leaving them terribly the worse for wear and, inevitably, beaten the following day. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg came to be.
This Punjabi kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from that original drink. At the restaurant, we serve it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've adjusted the formula to make it better suited for a domestic environment.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Yields 1 litre, to serve 10-12 drinks.
You Will Need
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Method
Place all the ingredients in a big container. Pour in 130g water, mix thoroughly, then place it in the fridge. It can be stored for about a few weeks.
For serving, pour roughly 90ml of the infused whisky into a old fashioned glass packed with ice (preferably one big block). Serve promptly. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
