Drink for This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe

Tale claims that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his team would succeed over a visiting English squad. To gain the upper hand, he organized a lavish party the night before the match, at which he offered his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were incredibly large four-finger whisky pours, customarily measured from pinky to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players overindulged, leaving them extremely hungover and, inevitably, beaten the following day. And so, the story of the Patiala peg originated.

This take on a kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from Singh's drink. Here, we serve it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've modified the recipe to make it more suitable for a household kitchen.

The Patiala Peg Recipe

Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.

What's Required

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

Instructions

Combine everything in a big container. Add 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then place it in the fridge. It will now keep for about three weeks.

For serving, measure out about 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a short glass packed with ice (traditionally one large cube). Drink straight away. If you're feeling traditional, you could pour it using your fingers as they did.