Cocktail of the Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It

Legend has it that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his cricket team would win over a touring English team. To gain the upper hand, he hosted a grand party the night before the match, where he served his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are famously large four-finger measure whisky servings, traditionally gauged from pinky to index finger. As expected, the English players partook excessively, resulting in them being terribly the worse for wear and, consequently, vanquished the next day. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg originated.

This Punjabi kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from Singh's concoction. At the restaurant, we offer it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've adjusted the recipe to make it more suitable for a household kitchen.

Patiala Peg

Makes 1 litre, to serve 10-12 people.

Ingredients

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

Instructions

Put everything in a sizeable jug. Include 130g water, agitate to combine, then put it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for about a few weeks.

To serve, dispense approximately 90ml of the infused whisky into a short glass filled with ice (preferably one large cube). Enjoy immediately. If you're feeling traditional, you could pour it using your fingers instead.