Sasha Petraske

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.^[1] During his lifetime he was credited with inventing modern cocktail culture.^[2]

He was born in Greenwich Village, New York City.^[3] Often described as a savant, Petraske dropped out of Stuyvesant High School at the age of 17, and never received a formal post-secondary education.^[3] After traveling cross-country, he joined the US Army. He served in Alpha Company 2nd/75th Ranger Regiment and engineered his exit after three years of service by falsely claiming that he was gay.^[3] Following his departure from the army, he tended bar, ultimately opening Milk and Honey.^[3]

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.^[3][4] Cocktail historian Dale DeGroff described Petraske as a "Solve the problem, common-sense kind of guy."^[3]

Petraske was very prolific and together with partners was the creative responsible for dozens of notable venues.^[2] A partial list is included below.

• Bohanan's, San Antonio (2006)
• Dutch Kills, NY (2009)
• East Side Company Bar, NY (2005)
• The Everleigh, Melbourne (2011)
• Little Branch, NY (2005)
• Middle Branch, NY (2012)
• Milk and Honey, London (2002)
• Milk and Honey, NY (1999)
• The Varnish, Los Angeles (2009)^[5]
• White Star, NY (2008)
• Wm. Farmer & Sons (2015)^[6]

In May 2015, Petraske married journalist Georgette Moger.

Death

He was found dead at his home in Hudson, New York on August 21, 2015.^[7]

Legacy

Many of the world's top bartenders studied under Petraske magnifying his influence beyond that of any other bartender to date.^[2]

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.^[8][9]

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.^[10]

See also

• Craft cocktail movement