Drink of the Week: The Patiala Peg Cocktail – How to Make It

Legend claims that back in 1920, Bhupinder Singh, was adamant that his cricket team would succeed over a visiting English side. To secure an advantage, he threw a splendid party the night before the match, at which he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were notoriously generous four-finger measure whisky servings, customarily poured from little finger to forefinger. Unsurprisingly, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being terribly hungover and, inevitably, beaten the next day. In this way, the legend of the Patiala peg was born.

This inspired kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from that original beverage. At the restaurant, we offer it from a specially crafted five-litre bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it better suited for a home environment.

Patiala Peg

Yields 1 litre, serving 10-12 portions.

You Will Need

• 725g blended Scotch
• 130g simple syrup
• 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (approximately 1⅓ tsp)
• 1g orange bitters (approximately ⅕ tsp)
• A small pinch of salt
• 2g xanthan gum

Method

Put all the ingredients in a big container. Include 130g water, stir until fully incorporated, then place it in the fridge. It will now keep for about 21 days.

For serving, dispense roughly 90ml of the infused whisky into a rocks glass filled with ice (ideally one big block). Enjoy immediately. If you're feeling traditional, you could pour it using your fingers as they did.