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

Legend has it that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his cricket team would win over a visiting English squad. To secure an advantage, he organized a grand party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are famously generous four-finger measure whisky servings, customarily gauged from little finger to index finger. Unsurprisingly, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being terribly hungover and, consequently, vanquished the following day. And so, the legend of the Patiala peg originated.

This inspired variation of Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from the Maharaja's beverage. Here, we offer it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've modified the formula to make it better suited for a home environment.

The Patiala Peg Recipe

Produces 1 litre, to serve 10-12 drinks.

You Will Need

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

Instructions

Combine everything in a sizeable jug. Pour in 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then place it in the fridge. It can be stored for as long as three weeks.

When ready to drink, measure out roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a short glass filled with ice (preferably one big block). Enjoy promptly. If you're feeling traditional, you could pour it using your fingers instead.