Drink for This Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe

Folklore has it that back in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his cricket team would triumph over a touring English side. For a competitive edge, he organized a splendid party on the eve of the match, where he offered his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These are incredibly substantial four-finger measure whisky pours, historically poured from little finger to index finger. As expected, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being extremely the worse for wear and, inevitably, vanquished the next day. In this way, the myth of the Patiala peg was born.

This Punjabi kind-of old fashioned takes its cue from the Maharaja's beverage. Here, we serve it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it more suitable for a household setting.

The Patiala Peg Recipe

Produces 1 litre, enough for 10-12 portions.

Ingredients

• 725g Scotch whisky blend
• 130g sugar syrup
• 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
• 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
• A pinch of salt
• 2g xanthan gum powder

Method

Put everything in a big container. Pour in 130g water, mix thoroughly, then place it in the fridge. It can be stored for about a few weeks.

To serve, measure out roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a old fashioned glass containing ice (preferably one big block). Enjoy immediately. For a traditional touch, you could pour it using your fingers instead.