Drink This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Legend has it that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his team would win over a visiting English side. For a competitive edge, he organized a grand party on the eve of the match, at which he served his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are notoriously generous four-finger whisky servings, historically measured from little finger to forefinger. As expected, the English players partook excessively, leaving them extremely hungover and, consequently, defeated the day after. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg originated.
This Punjabi kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from the Maharaja's drink. In our establishment, we serve it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've adapted the instructions to make it better suited for a home setting.
Patiala Peg
Makes 1 litre, to serve 10-12 drinks.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Instructions
Put all the ingredients in a sizeable jug. Pour in 130g water, stir until fully incorporated, then put it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for up to three weeks.
For serving, measure out approximately 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass filled with ice (preferably one large cube). Drink promptly. If you're feeling traditional, you could use the four-finger measure for authenticity.
