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

Tale suggests that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his team would succeed over a visiting English side. To secure an advantage, he threw a lavish party on the eve of the match, where he served his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These are notoriously substantial four-finger measure whisky servings, customarily gauged from little finger to index finger. Predictably, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being very the worse for wear and, inevitably, defeated the next day. In this way, the legend of the Patiala peg was born.

This take on a kind-of old fashioned draws inspiration from the Maharaja's drink. At the restaurant, we serve it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've modified the formula to make it easier for a household setting.

The Patiala Peg Recipe

Produces 1 litre, enough for 10-12 portions.

What's Required

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

Method

Combine all the ingredients in a big container. Pour in 130g water, agitate to combine, then put it in the fridge. It can be stored for as long as 21 days.

When ready to drink, pour roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a old fashioned glass packed with ice (preferably one large cube). Serve immediately. For a traditional touch, you could use the four-finger measure for authenticity.