Legend has it that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his cricket team would win over a touring English squad. For a competitive edge, he hosted a splendid party the night before the match, where he served his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are famously generous four-finger whisky pours, historically gauged from pinky to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players partook excessively, leaving them very hungover and, consequently, defeated the following day. In this way, the myth of the Patiala peg came to be.
This inspired spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from that original drink. Here, we offer it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it better suited for a domestic setting.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Makes 1 litre, to serve 10-12 drinks.
Ingredients
- 725g blended scotch whisky
- 130g sugar syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
- A dash of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Preparation
Place all the ingredients in a sizeable jug. Pour in 130g water, stir to combine, then put it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for as long as 21 days.
For serving, pour roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a short glass packed with ice (ideally one big block). Drink promptly. To honour tradition, you could use the four-finger measure as they did.
