Drink This Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe
Legend suggests that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was set that his cricket team would triumph over a visiting English side. To secure an advantage, he organized a splendid party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were famously large four-finger measure whisky servings, customarily gauged from pinky to index finger. Predictably, the English players partook excessively, resulting in them being extremely hungover and, consequently, beaten the day after. Thus, the myth of the Patiala peg originated.
This take on a kind-of old fashioned takes its cue from that original concoction. In our establishment, we present it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it more suitable for a household kitchen.
Patiala Peg
Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Instructions
Combine all the ingredients in a large bottle. Include 130g water, mix until fully incorporated, then put it in the fridge. It will now keep for up to a few weeks.
For serving, dispense about 90ml of the infused whisky into a old fashioned glass packed with ice (preferably one big block). Serve immediately. For a traditional touch, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
