Drink This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Folklore suggests that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his cricket team would win over a visiting English squad. To gain the upper hand, he threw a lavish party on the eve of the match, where he served his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These are famously generous four-finger whisky pours, customarily gauged from little finger to index finger. Unsurprisingly, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being terribly hungover and, consequently, defeated the day after. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg came to be.
This inspired spin on the old fashioned is inspired by Singh's beverage. In our establishment, we offer it from a bespoke five-litre bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it better suited for a household environment.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.
Ingredients
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Put everything in a large bottle. Include 130g water, mix until fully incorporated, then place it in the refrigerator. You can store it for up to a few weeks.
When ready to drink, measure out roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass packed with ice (preferably one big block). Drink immediately. If you're feeling traditional, you could pour it using your fingers as they did.
