Drink for This 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 squad. To secure an advantage, he hosted a splendid party the night before the match, where he presented his guests the notorious Patiala pegs. These are notoriously generous four-finger measure whisky servings, customarily poured from little finger to index finger. As expected, the English players partook excessively, resulting in them being very hungover and, consequently, beaten the next day. And so, the legend of the Patiala peg came to be.

This take on a kind-of Old Fashioned cocktail draws inspiration from that original drink. Here, we serve it from a specially crafted large-format bottle, but we've modified the instructions to make it more suitable for a household setting.

Patiala Peg

Makes 1 litre, to serve 10-12 drinks.

You Will Need

725g blended Scotch
130g simple syrup
6g Angostura bitters (about 1⅓ tsp)
1g orange-flavoured bitters (about ⅕ tsp)
A pinch of salt
2g xanthan gum

Instructions

Place everything in a sizeable jug. Pour in 130g water, stir until fully incorporated, then place it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for as long as 21 days.

When ready to drink, pour about 90ml of the prepared cocktail into a rocks glass filled with ice (preferably one big block). Serve straight away. For a traditional touch, you could pour it using your fingers for authenticity.

Rebecca Alvarado

A seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in reviewing online casinos and developing winning strategies.