Cocktail for This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe

Tale has it that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his team would win over a visiting English squad. To secure an advantage, he organized a lavish party on the eve of the match, at which he offered his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are famously large four-finger measure whisky servings, historically measured from pinky to index finger. Unsurprisingly, the English players partook excessively, leaving them very the worse for wear and, inevitably, defeated the following day. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg was born.

This take on a kind-of old fashioned draws inspiration from Singh's concoction. Here, we present it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it more suitable for a home setting.

The Patiala Peg Recipe

Yields 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.

You Will Need

• 725g blended Scotch
• 130g sugar syrup (1:1)
• 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
• 1g orange bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
• A dash of salt
• 2g xanthan gum

Preparation

Put everything in a large bottle. Include 130g water, mix until fully incorporated, then transfer it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for as long as three weeks.

To serve, measure out roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a short glass containing ice (preferably one large cube). Drink promptly. For a traditional touch, you could measure it in by hand for authenticity.