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

Legend has it that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his team would win over a touring English team. To gain the upper hand, he hosted a splendid party on the eve of the match, at which he presented his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were notoriously substantial four-finger measure whisky pours, historically gauged from pinky to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being terribly the worse for wear and, inevitably, defeated the following day. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg was born.

This inspired kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from that original drink. In our establishment, we present it from a custom-made five-litre bottle, but we've adjusted the recipe to make it more suitable for a home setting.

The Patiala Peg Recipe

Makes 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.

You Will Need

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

Instructions

Put all the ingredients in a large bottle. Include 130g water, agitate to combine, then put it in the refrigerator. You can store it for as long as a few weeks.

For serving, measure out roughly 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a short glass packed with ice (ideally one large cube). Drink immediately. To honour tradition, you could use the four-finger measure for authenticity.