Sasha Petraske, of Milk & Honey, Dutch Kills and other landmark New York City and London bars, has hooked up with Philadelphia’s Starr Restaurants on the 36-seat cocktail lounge Ranstead Room, opened simultaneously with Starr’s Mexican concept El Rey. Petraske is best known for turn-of-the-century and pre-Prohibition cocktails, but focuses on drinks from the 1940s and ’50s at The Ranstead Room.including the Boulevardier (bourbon, Campari, sweet vermouth), the Williams Fizz (Cognac, Poire William, lemon juice, sugar, egg white) and The Sands Cocktail (gin, grapefruit juice, lemon juice, maraschino liqueur). As can be expected from Petraske, hand-cut ice, house-made mixers and fresh-squeezed juices are at the core of the menu.
LA’s Breadbar, known best for its artisanal hand-crafted breads and pastries, will debut a new monthly “Hatchi Mix” guest mixologist series at its Century City location on the first Thursday of every month from 6 p.m.-2 a.m. An extension of the Hatchi Guest Chef Series, Hatchi Mix will offer a one-night-only menu of specially made drinks. Hatchi means the number eight in Japanese and, as part of this theme, each menu features eight $8 cocktails. Opening mixologist is Devon Espinosa from The Tasting Kitchen, who offers his “Vive le Cocktail” concept featuring pre-Prohibition libations, such as the Sazerac, the Martinez, the Manhattan and the Last Word. Next up: Joel Black of the Caña Rum Bar at The Doheny will highlight rum cocktails on June 3, and Julian Cox of Rivera will focus on tequilas July 1.
At Vermilion in Alexandria, Va., the spring cocktail menu is a monthly affair, with bar manager Laura Secker creating three cocktails inspired by the month. April’s drinks, though, have pleased her enough to keep them on throughout May. The drinks include Hibiscus Blossom (Herradura tequila, lime, egg white and flower syrup), the Elderflower (ABSOLUT Citron, St-Germain and sparkling wine) and Lovely Lavender (lavender-honey infused vodka, lemon and Lillet Blanc).