Cocktail for This Week: The Patiala Peg – Recipe

Folklore has it that in 1920, the Maharaja of Patiala, was determined that his team would succeed over a touring English side. To secure an advantage, he organized a splendid party on the eve of the match, at which he offered his guests the famous Patiala pegs. These were famously substantial four-finger whisky servings, customarily measured from pinky to forefinger. As expected, the English players overindulged, resulting in them being very hungover and, consequently, vanquished the day after. And so, the legend of the Patiala peg came to be.

This Punjabi kind-of old fashioned is inspired by the Maharaja's drink. In our establishment, we serve it from a custom-made large-format bottle, but we've adapted the recipe to make it better suited for a domestic setting.

The Patiala Peg Recipe

Produces 1 litre, to serve 10-12 portions.

What's Required

  • 725g blended Scotch
  • 130g sugar syrup
  • 6g Angostura aromatic bitters (about 1â…“ tsp)
  • 1g orange-flavoured bitters (approximately â…• tsp)
  • A small pinch of salt
  • 2g xanthan gum

Preparation

Put everything in a big container. Pour in 130g water, stir thoroughly, then place it in the refrigerator. It will now keep for about 21 days.

For serving, measure out approximately 90ml of the infused whisky into a old fashioned glass filled with ice (preferably one large cube). Serve immediately. For a traditional touch, you could pour it using your fingers as they did.

Scott Best
Scott Best

A geospatial analyst with over a decade of experience in terrain modeling and environmental data visualization.