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

Tale has it that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his team would win over a touring English squad. To secure an advantage, he threw a grand party on the eve of the match, where he presented his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These are incredibly large four-finger whisky pours, traditionally gauged from pinky to forefinger. As expected, the English players overindulged, leaving them very the worse for wear and, inevitably, defeated the next day. In this way, the legend of the Patiala peg was born.

This Punjabi variation of Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from Singh's beverage. In our establishment, we present it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've adapted the instructions to make it better suited for a domestic kitchen.

Patiala Peg

Yields 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.

Ingredients

• 725g Scotch whisky blend
• 130g simple syrup
• 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
• 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
• A pinch of salt
• 2g xanthan gum powder

Instructions

Put everything in a sizeable jug. Pour in 130g water, stir to combine, then place it in the fridge. It will now keep for up to three weeks.

For serving, pour approximately 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a old fashioned glass containing ice (preferably one large cube). Serve promptly. For a traditional touch, you could pour it using your fingers as they did.