Pandemic Prompts Local Man to Use Bartending Skills to Start Website
business The Millennium Road, which provides
bar tools and information about some of
everyone’s favorite drinks.
By Lisa Mockel
Every cocktail has a story behind it.
Briarcliff Manor entrepreneur Evan Prish not only sells high-end bar accessories and shares classic and original cocktail recipes through his new online business, The Millennium Road, but includes a bar tool and glassware glossary and background information about some of the world’s most beloved drinks.
Prish has arranged it so you’re guaranteed to learn a thing or two when you visit The Millennium Road – maybe even a few fun facts you can impress your friends with the next time you get together for a drink – whether it be in person or virtually.
“I’d like to have people learn something in addition to providing unique and quality products,” he said of his website, www.themilleniumroad.com, which launched on Nov. 23. “It’s really an experience we are trying to go for.”
Did you know that the Bloody Mary, a Sunday brunch staple, is believed to be named after Queen Mary I of England, notorious for executing almost 300 religious dissenters during her reign? Or that the rye old fashioned has been around since the 1800s and has been referenced in the hit television shows “M*A*S*H” and “Mad Men” and the movie “Crazy, Stupid, Love” starring Steve Carell? The rye old fashioned also happens to be one of Prish’s all-time favorites.
Or maybe you’ve wondered why a particular drink should be shaken instead of stirred or why a martini glass is shaped the way it is. You can find the answers on The Millennium Road. You can also learn of the recipe for the Mayan Ruin, an original cocktail Prish created himself featuring tequila, vodka and Grand Marnier.
Prish, who enjoys playing the guitar, is a 2012 Briarcliff High School graduate. He graduated with a degree in international relations from the University of Miami in 2018. While taking a break from his studies, he earned a New York State certification in mixology and began bartending at several establishments in Westchester and New York City.
Prish said he loved the sense of community going to a bar and having a drink and decided he wanted to be at the center of it all.
“I think the whole bar culture is very important to society,” he said. “People love having the experience of going somewhere and having (a cocktail) served to them…Just going to a bar and having a drink and enjoying the atmosphere and talking to the other local people.”
He went on to work at the iconic Balthazar restaurant in Soho in the wine and spirits department and as an events and marketing associate where he wore multiple hats, from managing inventory to helping create the cocktail menu to “moving beverages from the back of the house to the front of the house to quite literally into the customer’s glass.”
After college, he worked at the New York City corporate office of Michter’s Distillery, traveling around the country and the world promoting its products. In 2018, he represented the company at Bar Convent Berlin, the world’s largest trade fair for the bar and beverage industry. Prish described it as an experience unlike any other he’d had before.
“Anyone who’s anyone in the spirits industry is there,” he said.
Disappointed by the lack of quality bar tools on the market and disheartened by the bar and restaurant shutdowns caused by COVID-19 earlier this year, he looked for new ways to further his passion for bartending. Seeing an opportunity to help people satisfy their cocktail cravings from the comfort of their own home, Prish set out to find unique and high-quality bar tools and began promoting his new business on social media.
In 2021, Prish will be “doubling down” on content that he said will appeal to everyone from the seasoned bartender to someone newly interested in mixology. Plans include adding more original cocktail recipes and educational videos.
Prish is particularly proud of a stylish stainless steel martini spoon he designed himself and which is currently featured on the website. He hopes to add other designs in the near future, including a martini spoon with a guitar head in addition to microfiber bar towels and copper bar products for a more luxurious feel.
The website also offers a five-piece premium stainless steel bar set in a custom Millennium Road gift box for $65.99 as well as a smaller three-piece set for $38.99. All items are dishwasher safe. Shipping is free on orders over $50.
For more information, visit themillenniumroad.com.
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