Wild Child, a Shawnee cocktail bar serving “low and no” alcohol content recently placed as one of the “Best Cocktail Bars” in Punch Drink, a national publication focused on bars and drinks.
The publication’s list ranks the Shawnee bar alongside establishments in Philadelphia, New York and Chicago.
“That’s like the publication for bars and restaurants in the cocktail world, so that was [expletive] cool,” said owner Jay Sanders.
Punch Drink praised the bar’s focus on low to no alcohol
The bar serves a variety of cocktails, like the Blood Moon, Old Fashioned and Kettlecorn Julep, all with a focus on keeping the alcohol content low.
“We do sell full-strength cocktails, a lot of them, mostly, and wine,” Sanders said. “We put the same amount of effort into our NAs.”
In the article, Sanders, who also operates neighboring bar Drastic Measures, discusses taking the alcohol out of cocktails and making their own non-alcoholic spirits.
“We strip alcohol out of popular spirits so we can try and replicate familiar recipes and flavors for people that used to drink but don’t now,” he said.
Wild Child opened this summer
Located next door to Drastic Measures, which Sanders owns with Derick and Shelley Shackelford, Wild Child offers a vibrant, energetic and colorful atmosphere and menu.
One of the goals of the bar is to make everyone feel safe and welcome, Sanders said. He was inspired to open up the space to cater to people who are sober or pregnant, but still want a fun place to go.
“They still want to go out and be social. They still want to see their friends and family and they still want to go have a date night,” Sanders said. “One of my favorite things is when I see a group of pregnant women at Wild Child. I’m like, ‘I’ve got you. Thank you. I built this all for you and I’m happy you’re here.’”
This is the second award for Sanders
Earlier this year, Drastic Measures was a finalist for the James Beard Foundation Award, considered to be one of the most prestigious honors in the food industry.
Sanders said both are huge surprises and he shows them off with pride.
“By two different metrics, both of our bars that are next to each other in Shawnee were deemed worthy of being top five in the country at something. That’s pretty cool. That’s a feather I’ll keep in my hat,” he said.
Because of its popularity, the bar accepts reservations that Sanders warns fills up fast and service for walk-in patrons.
Go deeper: Wild Child, ‘no and low’ alcohol cocktail bar, debuts in downtown Shawnee
