Movers and Shakers: Philadelphia’s Cocktail Scene
ABOUT LIZ EINHORN
Mixologists and beverage artisans are raising the bar for Philadelphia’s cocktail scene. Meet a few of the people rocking Philly’s drinks world.
The Bar Team at Middle Child Clubhouse
The Eclectic Collaborators
MIDDLE CHILD CLUBHOUSE as a concept simultaneously makes no sense and is exactly as it should be. Sandwich shop by day, hipster diner by night, the bar program and the creative team driving it is no different. Unapologetically themselves, this eclectic group of bartenders has collective experience primarily in Philly, but have also bartended all over the country, from Minneapolis to Chicago to San Francisco, prior to landing at this Fishtown destination.
Varying levels of experience coupled with diverse backgrounds allow the team to learn from each other and, as a result, they have developed a collaborative cocktail program that is as delicious as it is whimsical—and created one of today’s most thoughtful and fun bar programs. The team focuses on small-production spirits, aspects of sustainability, and a fun/approachable yet meticulously executed program.
“One of our guiding principles when we’re doing cocktail development is this idea that cocktails are part of an experience, not a means to an end,” says General Manager Brandon Thrash, who is well known throughout Philly for his beverage prowess. “Getting drunk is certainly fun, but the point of the cocktails we serve is to create an experience with flavor more than to get you wasted, so having a number of nonalcoholic options is a natural extension of that.” When it comes to mocktails, they do their best to not focus on citrus as a crutch, believing that restaurant mocktail offerings are too often just a combination of fruit juices and fruit syrups. The MCC team wants to create an experience that extends outside of the normal “fruit juice cocktail.”
The Seawater Margarita is the most popular cocktail at Middle Child Clubhouse and it exemplifies their approach. At its core, the Seawater is half Paloma, half Margarita, but they use a celery-kombu broth instead of water to pre-dilute the cocktail to give it an umami/salty note. “We’re very thoughtful and particular in our approach at Middle Child, but that’s all on the back end,” Thrash adds. “The guest doesn’t need to know that we’re using citric acid instead of lemon juice or we’re clarifying a black tea infusion to get rid of the bitter tannins. We just want them to think: “This is so tasty.”
MIDDLE CHILD CLUBHOUSE
1232 N. Front St., Philadelphia.
267.858.4325
middlechildphilly.com
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