Cocktail This Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – Recipe

Tale claims that during 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was adamant that his team would triumph over a touring English side. To gain the upper hand, he hosted a splendid party on the eve of the match, at which he served his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These are incredibly generous four-finger whisky servings, historically poured from pinky to index finger. Predictably, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being terribly hungover and, consequently, vanquished the day after. And so, the legend of the Patiala peg came to be.

This Punjabi variation of Old Fashioned cocktail takes its cue from the Maharaja's concoction. Here, we present it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it easier for a home environment.

The Patiala Peg Recipe

Makes 1 litre, to serve 10-12 portions.

What's Required

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

Instructions

Put all the ingredients in a sizeable jug. Include 130g water, stir to combine, then place it in the refrigerator. You can store it for up to three weeks.

To serve, dispense approximately 90ml of the infused whisky into a rocks glass packed with ice (traditionally one big block). Drink straight away. To honour tradition, you could measure it in by hand as they did.