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Cocktails at the Ranstead Room
Posted by Foobooz on May 13th, 2010
Rick Nichols talks shop with Sasha Petraske, the consulting figure behind the Ranstead Room.
As much as the mechanics of cocktail-making, though, Petraske has a mood in mind: “The ambience is a place for people old enough to know how to drink; strong drinks in a [grown-up] environment . . . no dancing on the table or screaming and shouting.”
Anyone is welcome to come in, he says. But they’re not always welcome back: “Postgraduate drinking,” he calls it, distinguished by “offhand excellence,” where status brands aren’t named on the menu and the bartenders aren’t performance artists.
Swigging with sophistication [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Ranstead Room Cocktail list after the jump.
Piquin Cocktail
blanco tequila, chili piquin, lemon juice, sugar
Palma Fizz
vodka ginere and lime juices, sugar, soda, rose water.
Boulevardier
bourbon, campari, sweet vermouth
Applejack “75″
applejack, lemon juice, sugar, champagne
Brooklyn No. 2
rye, sweet vermouth, maraschino
Maloneys Swizzle
white rum, lime juice, sugar, mint, peychaud bitters
Tequila Honeysuckle
blanco tequila, lime juice, honey
Casino Cocktail
gin, lemon juice, maraschino, orange bitters
Hays Fizz
gin, lemon juice, sugar, club soda, absinthe rinse
Bartender’s Choice – leave it to us….
El Rey
2013 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA
Related Tags: Center-City-West, Cocktails, Ranstead Room, Sasha Petraske
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May 13th, 2010 at 5:19 pm
This place will(possibly already is) be douchefied in a matter of weekends. Ill stick with the Franklyn for high end cocktails.
May 13th, 2010 at 8:38 pm
anonymous southwark employee FTW.
May 13th, 2010 at 10:09 pm
So do we say Petraske pulled a big PR fail here by pretty much alienating/condescending the demographic that would have been most curious about RR?
Given El Rey, I think a better bar choice would have been a sort of “rocker bar concept.” I’m not sure what I’m talking about other than an image of that bar glimpsed in flashback in the video for “November Rain” popped in my head when thinking about what should have been done with the space. That’s an easier ball to hit when your intent is apparently to give your customers the “experience” of being in a bar “about” whatever sort of bar it’s supposed to be, which seems to be the shtick with the Starr group’s offerings. This approach comes off as tiresome to people who just want a good, well-made drink.
May 14th, 2010 at 8:08 am
Change the R’s to D’s on that door, it could be called the Douchebag Door.
May 14th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
@Marty B
I agree – “Rocker Bar” would’ve been PERFECT for this spot. My first thought was something like the Ruby Room in San Diego (even the logo/sigage is the same)
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/gw8msPPvzw1a7RWbdvQGOg?select=y8iKB8-t36HeZV3xcFUhcg
I’ve heard this bar sells the most Sailor Jerry in the country. El Rey should shoot for a title like that.
May 15th, 2010 at 12:03 am
Sailor Jerry rights were bought for $25k sold as a brand for $60 Million
Im in the wrong business
May 17th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
or it would have been cool to have a vibe like the amigo room at the ace in palm springs ca. would have matched the el rey theme much better