Sasha Nathan Petraske (March 16, 1973 – August 21, 2015) was the founder of the New York City cocktail bar
Milk & Honey, as well as a partner and creative force behind many of the world's most highly regarded bars. During his lifetime he was credited with inventing modern cocktail culture.
He was born in
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
, New York City.
Often described as a
savant
Savant syndrome () is a rare condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrates certain abilities far in excess of average. The skills that savants excel at are generally related to memory. This may include rapid calcu ...
, Petraske dropped out of
Stuyvesant High School
Stuyvesant High School (pronounced ), commonly referred to among its students as Stuy (pronounced ), is a State school, public university-preparatory school, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school ...
at the age of 17, and never received a formal post-secondary education.
After traveling cross-country, he joined the US Army. He served in
Alpha Company
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a major or a captain. Most companies are formed of three to seven platoons, although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure ...
2nd/
75th Ranger Regiment and engineered his exit after three years of service by falsely claiming that he was gay.
Following his departure from the army, he tended bar, ultimately opening Milk and Honey.
His bar was known for its focus on attention-to-detail on classic cocktail recipes and a strict set of "Rules of Etiquette" to ensure a polite and enjoyable drinking experience, while carefully minimizing unnecessary costs and ensuring consistent recipe ratios through adopting the then-usual use of a
bartending jigger to ensure precise pours.
Cocktail historian
Dale DeGroff
Dale DeGroff (born September 21, 1948, Rhode Island), also known as ''the King of Cocktails'' or ''King Cocktail'', is an American bartender and author. The New York Times in 2015 called DeGroff "one of the world's foremost cocktail experts", and ...
described Petraske as a "Solve the problem, common-sense kind of guy."
Petraske was very prolific and together with partners was the creative responsible for dozens of notable venues.
A partial list is included below.
* Bohanan's,
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
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(2006)
* Dutch Kills, NY (2009)
* East Side Company Bar, NY (2005)
* The Everleigh,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...
(2011)
* Little Branch, NY (2005)
* Middle Branch, NY (2012)
* Milk and Honey, London (2002)
* Milk and Honey, NY (1999)
* The Varnish, Los Angeles (2009)
* White Star, NY (2008)
*Wm. Farmer & Sons (2015)
In May 2015, Petraske married journalist Georgette Moger.
Death
He was found dead at his home in
Hudson, New York
Hudson is a city and the county seat of Columbia County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 5,894. Located on the east side of the Hudson River and 120 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, it was named for the river ...
on August 21, 2015.
Legacy
Many of the world's top bartenders studied under Petraske magnifying his influence beyond that of any other bartender to date.
Bars around the world memorialized him after his death, toasting him with daiquiris -- a cocktail he loved -- at 9pm local time on August 31, 2015, in honor of the traditional evening hour of Milk and Honey's opening.
His wife, Georgette Moger-Petraske, compiled his writings after his death in a book, ''Regarding Cocktails'', that contained many of his innovative recipes as well as selected writings on the art of cocktail-making and tending bar.
See also
*
Craft cocktail movement
The craft cocktail movement is a social movement spurred by the cocktail renaissance, a period of time in the 21st century characterized by a revival and re-prioritization of traditional recipes and methods in the bar industry.
History
The cockta ...
References
1973 births
2015 deaths
Businesspeople from New York (state)
People from Hudson, New York
American bartenders
Drinking establishment owners
21st-century American businesspeople
20th-century American businesspeople
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