After The Polar Vortex and storm Hercules, we now find ourselves in a period of calm and storm-free weather. These halcyon days give us energy and the courage to keep fighting through winter. Just like the gods made these special days for the birds to nest by the sea, every once in a while all we need is a safe haven, or maybe a place where time stops and you lie weightless, refreshed, invigorated. Or even an opportunity to lay on clean sheets after a nice shower on a warm day of the summer, as Yaz Rosete put it when we first tasted the Phil Collins from Tandem.
The refreshing Phil Collins, with cucumber soda bubbles.
A simple cocktail pun, the Phil Collins is a classic Tom Collins, but the soda used is cucumber DRY soda. In the same page as its classic predecessor, the Phil Collins consists of Plymouth gin, lemon and simple syrup. For another week, simplicity wins, and the last touch of cucumber soda is what seals the deal. Everything makes sense, and once that sip hits your mouth time stops. You find yourself in a safe haven where an awesome loop of the drum solo plays indefinitely.
The bartender at Tandem after creating the beautiful cocktail.
Even though it’s clearly a summer drink, customers are ordering it throughout the year, said Will, the bartender who prepared that night’s concoctions. Thinking of the Phil Collins in the context of my initial encounter with Tandem and El Diablo, I can see how these two cocktails exemplify the cool bar/raging club pendulum that characterizes Tandem. While the Phil Collins can stop time, the El Diablo can fire away the night. Together they are like the ying and yang essence of Tandem.
Would you like to be in a Phil Collins song with light soundwaves from the drum solo tickling your eardrums as you lay weightless? Then tasting the Phil Collins in Tandem bar, and feeling the series of cucumber soda bubbles, is the way to go and reach that level of invigorating serenity.
Bushwick Mixer is a weekly column somewhere at the crossroads of pop culture and mixology in the bars of Bushwick. Hashtag your photos of Bushwick cocktails with #BushwickMixer and let us know why they should be tasted by the author of the column.
The Phil Collins is served at Tandem Bar, 236 Troutman Street for $9.