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

Legend has it that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was set that his team would succeed over a visiting English side. To gain the upper hand, he hosted a lavish party on the eve of the match, where he presented his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These were incredibly substantial four-finger measure whisky servings, customarily gauged from pinky to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players overindulged, leaving them terribly the worse for wear and, consequently, vanquished the following day. In this way, the legend of the Patiala peg came to be.

This inspired spin on the old fashioned draws inspiration from that original drink. In our establishment, we present it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it more suitable for a domestic kitchen.

Patiala Peg

Yields 1 litre, to serve 10-12 portions.

You Will Need

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

Preparation

Place everything in a large bottle. Pour in 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then put it in the refrigerator. You can store it for as long as a few weeks.

For serving, pour approximately 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a short glass containing ice (ideally one large cube). Drink immediately. For a traditional touch, you could use the four-finger measure instead.