Drink of the Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe

Folklore suggests that in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was determined that his cricket team would win over a touring English squad. To secure an advantage, he hosted a splendid party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are famously substantial four-finger whisky pours, customarily poured from pinky to forefinger. As expected, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being very the worse for wear and, inevitably, defeated the next day. Thus, the story of the Patiala peg originated.

This Punjabi spin on the old fashioned is inspired by the Maharaja's drink. In our establishment, we serve it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've adjusted the instructions to make it better suited for a household kitchen.

Patiala Peg

Produces 1 litre, enough for 10-12 drinks.

Ingredients

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

Method

Combine everything in a sizeable jug. Include 130g water, agitate to combine, then place it in the fridge. It can be stored for about a few weeks.

For serving, pour roughly 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a old fashioned glass filled with ice (preferably one big block). Serve immediately. To honour tradition, you could pour it using your fingers as they did.

Robert Peterson
Robert Peterson

Lena is a passionate tech journalist and gaming enthusiast, dedicated to uncovering the latest trends and innovations.