Drink of the Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It

Folklore claims that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his cricket team would triumph over a visiting English side. To secure an advantage, he organized a grand party the night before the match, at which he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were incredibly substantial four-finger measure whisky pours, traditionally poured from little finger to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being terribly hungover and, inevitably, vanquished the day after. And so, the story of the Patiala peg originated.

This inspired kind-of old fashioned takes its cue from the Maharaja's drink. At the restaurant, we offer it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it better suited for a domestic setting.

The Patiala Peg Recipe

Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.

You Will Need

• 725g blended scotch whisky
• 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
• 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
• 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
• A small pinch of salt
• 2g xanthan gum powder

Instructions

Combine everything in a sizeable jug. Add 130g water, stir thoroughly, then place it in the fridge. It will now keep for as long as a few weeks.

To serve, dispense about 90ml of the infused whisky into a old fashioned glass containing ice (preferably one big block). Serve immediately. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers as they did.