Partners of the Late Sasha Petraske Open Bar in His Memory

A few months after the passing of cocktail visionary Sasha Petraske, his partners are opening a bar this week in his memory. This Friday, partners Josh Bonsignore and Lucinda Sterling will open Seaborne in Red Hook. Seaborne — named after a William Butler Yeat's poem — was 90 percent built at the time of Petraske's death in August 2015. Planned as the third iteration of Petraske's renowned speakeasy Milk & Honey, Seaborne will feature many details followers of the cocktail titan are familiar with including exposed brick walls and intimate booths. In keeping with Petraske's wish to keep labor costs low, each booth at Seaborne also has a water faucet.

Behind the bar at Seaborne is Lucinda Sterling, a former Little Branch bartender and Petraske disciple who became a partner when the team opened Middle Branch in Murray Hill. Sterling tells the Times how she came to the name after changing from Falconer which Petraske picked: "Toward the end of the poem, the bird is seaborne, meaning balanced in the air. And I thought, that’s perfect. It’s relevant to Red Hook, which is near the water. Also, it’s a bird, still. And balance is something Sasha also thought about: balanced cocktails." Seaborne is slated to open on Friday.