Tale claims that back in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was set that his cricket team would succeed over a touring English squad. To gain the upper hand, he organized a lavish party the night before the match, where he served his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were incredibly large four-finger whisky pours, historically measured from pinky to index finger. Predictably, the English players overindulged, leaving them extremely hungover and, inevitably, vanquished the following day. And so, the story of the Patiala peg originated.
This take on a variation of old fashioned draws inspiration from Singh's beverage. Here, we present it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've adjusted the instructions to make it better suited for a household kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Produces 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.
What's Required
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Method
Combine all the ingredients in a large bottle. Add 130g water, stir until fully incorporated, then place it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for up to a few weeks.
For serving, measure out approximately 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a rocks glass packed with ice (ideally one big block). Enjoy immediately. If you're feeling traditional, you could use the four-finger measure as they did.
