Drink This Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe
Folklore claims that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his cricket team would succeed over a visiting English side. To secure an advantage, he hosted a grand party on the eve of the match, at which he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were notoriously generous four-finger whisky pours, customarily measured from little finger to index finger. As expected, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being very the worse for wear and, inevitably, beaten the following day. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg originated.
This take on a variation of old fashioned draws inspiration from that original beverage. Here, we present it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've modified the formula to make it better suited for a domestic kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Makes 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.
You Will Need
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Place everything in a sizeable jug. Add 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then put it in the fridge. It will now keep for up to three weeks.
For serving, dispense roughly 90ml of the infused whisky into a rocks glass filled with ice (ideally one large cube). Serve promptly. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
