Drink This Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe

Tale suggests that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his team would succeed over a touring English squad. For a competitive edge, he threw a lavish party the night before the match, at which he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are incredibly substantial four-finger measure whisky pours, historically poured from pinky to index finger. Predictably, the English players overindulged, leaving them terribly hungover and, consequently, beaten the next day. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg was born.

This inspired kind-of old fashioned takes its cue from the Maharaja's concoction. In our establishment, we present it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it better suited for a domestic kitchen.

Patiala Peg

Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 people.

What's Required

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

Method

Put all the ingredients in a big container. Add 130g water, stir thoroughly, then put it in the fridge. It will now keep for up to three weeks.

For serving, measure out approximately 90ml of the infused whisky into a short glass containing ice (preferably one large cube). Serve immediately. If you're feeling traditional, you could use the four-finger measure instead.