Cocktail This Week: The Patiala Peg – How to Make It
Legend has it that back in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his cricket team would triumph over a visiting English team. To gain the upper hand, he threw a lavish party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These were famously generous four-finger whisky pours, historically poured from little finger to forefinger. Predictably, the English players drank too much, resulting in them being very the worse for wear and, inevitably, defeated the next day. In this way, the story of the Patiala peg was born.
This take on a spin on the old fashioned is inspired by Singh's beverage. In our establishment, we serve it from a bespoke five-litre bottle, but we've adjusted the recipe to make it better suited for a household kitchen.
The Patiala Peg Recipe
Produces 1 litre, to serve 10-12 portions.
What's Required
- 725g blended Scotch
- 130g simple syrup
- 6g Angostura bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
- 1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
- A small pinch of salt
- 2g xanthan gum
Method
Place everything in a large bottle. Add 130g water, stir thoroughly, then transfer it in the refrigerator. You can store it for up to 21 days.
To serve, measure out roughly 90ml of the Patiala peg mixture into a short glass filled with ice (ideally one big block). Serve straight away. To honour tradition, you could measure it in by hand instead.
