This new bar was just named one of the best in the country. And it’s in Johnson County
The country’s hottest new bars, according to a national list, are a divey spot near the shore of Portland, Maine, and a cocktail lounge serving mango martinis in New York City’s East Village.
Plus, Shawnee’s Wild Child, a newly opened bar whose owners pride themselves in their nonalcoholic cocktails.
Punch, an online guide “dedicated to drinks and drinking culture,” placed the Johnson County business among five of the best new bars, in an article published this month. The Vox-owned publication also gave the honor to sleek Nine Bar in Chicago and “farm-to-glass” Poste Haste in Philadelphia.
Perhaps Shawnee is an unlikely place for nationally recognized bars.
At least it was until owner Jay Sanders’ other bar next door, Drastic Measures, was named a James Beard Award finalist earlier this year. The suburb of 68,000 or so has a growing bar scene that includes the new Friction Beer Co., District Pour House, Servaes Brewing Co., to name a few.
Sanders realizes it’s a privilege to receive kudos from a journal that’s been covering all things shaken and stirred since 2013 and recently joined forces with Eater.
“If a woodworker or a carpenter had a magazine that everybody read passionately, that would be like what this is for bartenders and food and wine enthusiasts,” Sanders said.
Sanders appears alongside New York’s Superbueno, which Sanders says is “the best bar in the country.”
“There’s heroes of mine on there,” Sanders said.
Drastic Measures is known for its full-strength craft cocktails. But Wild Child, at 11022 Johnson Drive, has a menu that’s one-third wine, one-third cocktails, one-third nonalcoholic cocktails.
He believes his inclusive menu is partly what earned his bar a spot on the list.
“I think it was for the attention and care we put into our friends who don’t imbibe alcohol,” Sanders said. “That caught some eyes, and I think that’s where a lot of places are gonna be headed in the future.”
Punch highlighted the cucumber fernojito, a drink with nonalcoholic mint liqueur, cucumber juice, lime juice and mint.
For drinks with difficult-to-substitute ingredients, Sanders removes alcohol from spirits using a special vacuum distiller. The result: drinks like his alcohol-free negroni that taste nearly the same.
His French 75 kakigori has juniper hydrolate, nonalcoholic gin, lemon aperitif, de-alcoholized sparkling Verdejo and soft, Japanese-style shaved ice.
It’s hard to say whether Wild Child has seen a spike in business since the article came out. Sanders said he’s been “as busy as we can be” since he opened in July.
Given how bustling the bar can be, he recommends making reservations at wildchildkc.com.
Wild Child is open 5 to 11 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 5 p.m. to midnight Fridays and 3 p.m. to midnight Saturdays.