Legend of the Patiala Peg: When Maharaja Bhupinder Singh 'tricked' British cricketers

Many of us wonder why the city of Patiala is used as a reference to measure a drink. A Patiala peg or the two-finger peg is something people present to guests during special celebrations. It is a measure more than the standard 30 ml or 60 ml of hard liquor, mostly whiskey.

It is basically measured by the distance between the little finger and the index finger. Didn't get it? To pour a Patiala peg, one needs to place the little finger at the bottom base of a glass and rest the index finger on the outside and pour whiskey into the glass until it fills the base of the index finger. That's a Patiala peg. But do you know how it came to being measured that way. Read on to find out the story behind the Patiala peg.

The Patiala peg is a gift from Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala. The term has its roots in the Patiala royal family. The story is from the time of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, who ruled the princely state of Patiala from 1900 to 1938. He is the grandfather of former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. This story has been mentioned by Captain Amarinder Singh in his book "Captain Amarinder Singh: The People's Maharaja".