Cocktail for This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Legend has it that back in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his cricket team would win over a touring English side. To gain the upper hand, he organized a grand party the night before the match, at which he served his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were incredibly large four-finger whisky pours, historically gauged from little finger to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players overindulged, leaving them terribly hungover and, inevitably, defeated the next day. In this way, the legend of the Patiala peg came to be.
This Punjabi kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from Singh's concoction. Here, we offer it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've adapted the formula to make it better suited for a household environment.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Makes 1 litre, to serve 10-12 drinks.
Ingredients
- 725g Scotch whisky blend
- 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
- 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum powder
Method
Put everything in a sizeable jug. Include 130g water, agitate to combine, then place it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for up to 21 days.
To serve, measure out approximately 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a short glass containing ice (preferably one large cube). Drink straight away. If you're feeling traditional, you could measure it in by hand as they did.
