Cocktailery & Tomfoolery; 508 Gin Punch & Tamarind Rum Julep

Glendon Anthony Matthew Hartley has been tending bars for nine years to pay his way through fashion school. In the last four years he's been learning about classic cocktails from Jon Arroyo, a well known mixologist.  Born in the US to Trinidadian parents and raised in a suburb just outside DC, he now owns his own beverage consulting company, Hartley Stewart.

Glendon Hartley customizes cocktail pairings and develops drink menus for various companies and restaurants including but not limited to Lost Society, Remy Martin and Atlantico Rum.

Glendon mixed a couple of cocktails for my Indian cooking classes at 918 F St. in DC. One is perfect for any menu and the other customized to my Indian menu. Picking up the notes from the spices and flavors of Indian cooking, it proved to be a sensational hit. Once in awhile I come across someone who strikes a chord with me, and Glendon is one of those people. He is my first in a series of ongoing spotlights I will do as we move forward. 

Enjoy these cocktails as the summer season kicks off and a very Happy Mother's Day weekend!

508 Gin Punch

Citrus and sweet, light bodied and floral

Great for summer!
25-30 servings

3 cups lemon juice

3 cups grapefruit juice

2 cups St Germain elderflower liqueur 

2 cups agave nectar

Oils from 4 whole lemons (optional)

30 dashes of each Angostura and Peychaud's bitters

5 cups dry gin (Bombay Saphire/Tanquera )

10 cups brut champagne

8 cups of water

Stir or whisk all ingredients in a large punch bowl and serve over crushed or cracked ice.

Tamarind Rum Julep

Aromatic spices, tangy and sweet hints of caramel

First, prepare Demerara Ginger syrup

1 cup water
1 cup Demerara sugar or Sugar in the Raw
1 cup finely chopped ginger

In a pot on medium high heat, pour 1 cup water and heat to HOT water. Add 1 cup Demerara sugar and stir. Once sugar is dissolved, add 1 cup finely chopped ginger. Cook on simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Next prepare the tamarind Water
1/2 6 oz jar (about 3 oz) tamarind concentrate*
1 1/2 cups hot water

For one cocktail
1 oz tamarind water

1 oz Demerara ginger syrup

1/2 oz lemon juice

2-3 dashes Bitter Truth's Jerry Thomas Bitters

2 oz Gosling's dark rum
Slice of lemon

Combine all ingredients in shaker and shake vigorously. Strain onto crushed ice. Add a slice of lemon to garnish. Refrigerate the extra tamarind water and ginger syrup for future cocktails.

*Tamarind concentrate can be found at Whole Foods or your nearby Indian grocer.