Drink for This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It

Tale suggests that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his cricket team would succeed over a touring English team. For a competitive edge, he organized a grand party on the eve of the match, at which he served his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were incredibly generous four-finger whisky servings, historically measured from little finger to forefinger. As expected, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being terribly the worse for wear and, consequently, defeated the day after. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg was born.

This inspired variation of Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from the Maharaja's beverage. At the restaurant, we serve it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it easier for a household environment.

Patiala Peg

Makes 1 litre, serving 10-12 people.

Ingredients

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

Instructions

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

For serving, dispense about 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a old fashioned glass packed with ice (traditionally one big block). Serve straight away. For a traditional touch, you could measure it in by hand instead.