Cocktail This Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe

Legend claims that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his cricket team would triumph over a touring English team. For a competitive edge, he hosted a grand party the night before the match, where he served his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are incredibly generous four-finger whisky servings, customarily measured from little finger to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being very hungover and, inevitably, defeated the day after. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg came to be.

This Punjabi kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail is inspired by that original concoction. In our establishment, we offer it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it more suitable for a home environment.

The Patiala Peg Recipe

Produces 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.

You Will Need

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

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients in a large bottle. Pour in 130g water, mix to combine, then put it in the fridge. It can be stored for as long as a few weeks.

When ready to drink, dispense about 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a short glass packed with ice (preferably one big block). Serve straight away. To honour tradition, you could measure it in by hand for authenticity.