By Glendon Hartley & Chad Spangler
The Menehune Group / Washington, D.C.
Pear Chamomile Infusion
Ingredients
- 1 750ml bottle Belle Isle Premium Moonshine
- 1 tbs Chamomile Tea (we used Nile Organic from Capital Teas)
- 1.5 Anjou Pears
- 4 Pomelo peels
Preparation
Vacuum seal ingredients and sous vide at 130F for one hour. Chill to room temperate, strain.
Cocktail: Snowbunny
Ingredients
- 1.5oz Pear Chamomile Infused Belle Isle Moonshine
- 3/4oz simple
- 3/4oz lemon
- 1/4oz Dry Vermouth
- Big splash sparkling wine
Preparation
Mix all ingredients (save sparkling wine) add ice shake 10 seconds, fine strain into coupe. Add splash of sparkling wine. Garnish with pomelo zest.
The Menehune Group
Glendon Hartley and Chad Spangler founded The Menehune Group about two years ago with fellow bartenders JP Caceres and Kevin Rogers. The Menehune Group has one main focus: to provide clients with the means to develop, implement and maintain premium beverage programs.
As DC's leaders in cocktail menu creation, the group focuses on both developing and maintaining phenomenal programs. In their words:
We never develop a beverage program only to last a few months, we strive to instill knowledge & professionalism that lasts for years. In order to do so we focus on results based training.
By combining both efforts, the team is able to deliver maximum results and have been featured in publications such as The Washington Post and Washingtonian.
Through the Rum rich origins of his Caribbean heritage and his own artistic background Glendon (left) creates visually stunning cocktails with bold flavors. After acquiring a working knowledge and experience Glendon went on to create beverage menus for Blacksalt Fish Market, Lost Society and Cava Mezze Restaurant Group as well as creating cocktails for multiple Spirit brands including Patron Tequila, GreyGoose Vodka, Pisco Porton, Bombay Sapphire, Atlantico Rum and Deleon Tequila. Glendon is now the Vice President of the United States Bartenders Guild chapter of DC and is heading up new projects as the Creative Director of the Menehune Group Consulting company to elevate the nation's capital as one of the country's best places to eat and Drink.
Chad Spangler (right) was born & raised in a small town in Northeastern Pennsylvania, but came to DC 8 years ago for college. It was during this time he convinced Founding Farmers to hire him as a barback. There, Jon Arroyo introduced him to craft bartending, where he remained for almost 5 years – as head bartender at all three locations, and on the opening teams for both the Potomac Park & Georgetown waterfront restaurants. He then travelled across the country staging at bars like Pour Vous & La Descarga in LA, Coqueta in SF, & The Aviary in Chicago. When he came back he worked for Del Campo with JP Caceres & Chef Victor Albisu and acted as Beverage Director/GM for a consulting group in MD for just under 1 year, before opening bars Red Light (14th st) and Chaplin’s (shaw) with the Wilder Bros. Through Menehune Group, he is currently running the bar program for Provision No. 14.