Drink of the Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe

Folklore claims that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his cricket team would succeed over a visiting English side. To gain the upper hand, he threw a grand party the night before the match, at which he presented his guests the legendary Patiala pegs. These are notoriously large four-finger whisky pours, customarily measured from pinky to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being terribly hungover and, inevitably, beaten the following day. Thus, the legend of the Patiala peg was born.

This Punjabi variation of Old Fashioned cocktail is inspired by that original drink. Here, we present it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've adapted the formula to make it more suitable for a household environment.

The Patiala Peg Recipe

Makes 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.

You Will Need

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

Preparation

Put all the ingredients in a big container. Pour in 130g water, agitate until fully incorporated, then place it in the fridge. It can be stored for about 21 days.

For serving, measure out about 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a rocks glass packed with ice (preferably one big block). Serve straight away. For a traditional touch, you could measure it in by hand instead.