Drink This Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe
Folklore has it that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his cricket team would triumph over a touring English squad. To secure an advantage, he organized a lavish party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were famously large four-finger measure whisky pours, traditionally measured from pinky to index finger. As expected, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being extremely the worse for wear and, inevitably, vanquished the following day. In this way, the myth of the Patiala peg came to be.
This inspired kind-of old fashioned draws inspiration from Singh's drink. Here, we present it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've modified the formula to make it more suitable for a household kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Produces 1 litre, to serve 10-12 portions.
You Will Need
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Method
Put all the ingredients in a big container. Pour in 130g water, mix until fully incorporated, then put it in the fridge. It can be stored for about 21 days.
When ready to drink, measure out approximately 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass containing ice (traditionally one large cube). Drink promptly. If you're feeling traditional, you could pour it using your fingers instead.
