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

Folklore suggests that back in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was set that his cricket team would triumph over a visiting English team. For a competitive edge, he threw a splendid party on the eve of the match, where he served his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were famously large four-finger whisky pours, customarily measured from little finger to index finger. Unsurprisingly, the English players partook excessively, resulting in them being extremely the worse for wear and, inevitably, defeated the day after. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg was born.

This inspired variation of Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from that original beverage. At the restaurant, we present it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it better suited for a domestic kitchen.

The Patiala Peg Recipe

Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 drinks.

What's Required

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

Method

Combine all the ingredients in a sizeable jug. Pour in 130g water, mix thoroughly, then transfer it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for about three weeks.

For serving, dispense roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a rocks glass containing ice (preferably one big block). Enjoy straight away. For a traditional touch, you could use the four-finger measure as they did.