Drink for This Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe

Folklore has it that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was set that his team would succeed over a touring English squad. To secure an advantage, he hosted a splendid party on the eve of the match, where he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were incredibly large four-finger whisky servings, customarily gauged from little finger to index finger. Unsurprisingly, the English players partook excessively, resulting in them being terribly hungover and, consequently, defeated the day after. In this way, the myth of the Patiala peg came to be.

This Punjabi spin on the Old Fashioned cocktail is inspired by that original beverage. Here, we present it from a bespoke large-format bottle, but we've adjusted the formula to make it more suitable for a household environment.

Patiala Peg

Produces 1 litre, serving 10-12 people.

What's Required

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

Instructions

Place all the ingredients in a large bottle. Pour in 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then place it in the fridge. It will now keep for as long as 21 days.

For serving, dispense about 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a rocks glass containing ice (ideally one large cube). Enjoy straight away. If you're feeling traditional, you could pour it using your fingers instead.