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

Legend suggests that during 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his cricket team would triumph over a visiting English squad. For a competitive edge, he threw a splendid party the night before the match, at which he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were incredibly generous four-finger measure whisky pours, historically gauged from pinky to forefinger. As expected, the English players partook excessively, leaving them terribly the worse for wear and, inevitably, vanquished the day after. And so, the legend of the Patiala peg came to be.

This take on a variation of Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from that original drink. In our establishment, we serve it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've adjusted the recipe to make it easier for a home kitchen.

Patiala Peg

Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 drinks.

Ingredients

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

Preparation

Combine all the ingredients in a sizeable jug. Add 130g water, mix thoroughly, then put it in the refrigerator. You can store it for about a few weeks.

To serve, dispense approximately 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a old fashioned glass containing ice (ideally one large cube). Enjoy immediately. For a traditional touch, you could pour it using your fingers instead.