Drink This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Tale claims that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his team would win over a touring English squad. To secure an advantage, he threw a grand party on the eve of the match, at which he offered his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were notoriously large four-finger measure whisky pours, traditionally gauged from pinky to forefinger. Predictably, the English players overindulged, leaving them terribly hungover and, inevitably, defeated the next day. And so, the story of the Patiala peg originated.
This Punjabi spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from that original drink. In our establishment, we offer it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it more suitable for a home environment.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Makes 1 litre, enough for 10-12 people.
Ingredients
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Put everything in a large bottle. Pour in 130g water, mix to combine, then put it in the fridge. It can be stored for up to three weeks.
To serve, pour about 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a old fashioned glass filled with ice (ideally one large cube). Serve promptly. To honour tradition, you could use the four-finger measure instead.
