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

Legend suggests that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his team would win over a visiting English squad. For a competitive edge, he organized a splendid party on the eve of the match, where he served his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are notoriously generous four-finger whisky servings, historically measured from pinky to forefinger. As expected, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being extremely the worse for wear and, inevitably, vanquished the next day. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg came to be.

This Punjabi kind-of old fashioned draws inspiration from that original drink. In our establishment, we present it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've adapted the formula to make it easier for a domestic kitchen.

The Patiala Peg Recipe

Makes 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.

What's Required

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

Instructions

Combine everything in a large bottle. Include 130g water, agitate to combine, then transfer it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for as long as three weeks.

To serve, measure out roughly 90ml of the infused whisky into a old fashioned glass filled with ice (ideally one large cube). Serve promptly. For a traditional touch, you could measure it in by hand instead.

Kyle Higgins
Kyle Higgins

Elara is a tech journalist and AI researcher with over a decade of experience covering emerging technologies and their impact on society.

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