Kris and Shane McGowan Open Wildcat, a "Cocktail Forward" Bar + Restaurant in Hamden

You’ll encounter delicious libations at Wildcat like Uncommon Cargo, a take on an old fashioned that’s part bourbon, part Jamaican rum, stirred with a house made tarragon-kölsch cordial, and Angostura and orange bitters.

The word “ferocity” is used to describe the small, but mighty, wildcat. While the cat is native to Africa and Eurasia, the name “Wildcat” has been floating around Hamden and it has nothing to do with an animal, but rather, a cocktail bar that’s hoping to capture you with its ferocity.

Wildcat is brought to you by twin brothers, Kris and Shane McGowan, whose names you’ve definitely heard before as they’ve been in the industry near and far for well over a decade after they graduated college.

On how they make it work as a team, Shane says, “Our girlfriends say we never talk to each other! It’s fluid. if I need a break, he steps in. And it’s intuitiveness. I appreciate that we have this bond, where 10 years ago we may have butted heads a little more, but we’re older now, wiser.”

Kris: “I works well because I’m more social and front of house. I’ll be decorating and he’s locked in behind the bar. We don’t have tension and can be shorthanded in conversation because we know where each other is at.”

Photo credit - Matthew Pyrch

Both from Pawling, NY, Kris ended up in Connecticut working for the Barteca Restaurant Group and Shane, though he was originally pursuing a possible career as a lawyer, found himself bartending in New York City instead.

“I opened the West Hartford bartaco and it was a great learning experience to be somewhere that was sort of becoming corporate at the time,” Kris says. “Then I got the hell away from there because I didn’t want anything to do with corporate. It was a good structure, system, and rule that I learned a lot about. I started as a bartender, then moved up to bar manager, assistant general manager, and helped open Westport (bartaco) to train new managers.”

Photo credit: Madison Abbey Photography

As for Shane, he’d wind up getting a taste of high volume, speed bartending at nightclubs and some restaurant management experience before realizing that the whole lawyer deal wasn’t for him.

“Once I knew I wasn’t going to be a lawyer, I wanted to take bartending to as high a level as I could,” Shane says. “I thought I’d get into wine, and I got into fine dining at a bunch of places, at Jean-Georges. I read a bunch of books (all the books you see in Wildcat) and ended up at The Bar Downstairs.”

The Bar Downstairs, though, had a contract with a group called Alchemy Consulting that would lead Shane to making connections with the likes of Joaquín Simó and Troy Sidle, the co-founders of Pouring Ribbons, and legendary barman Toby Maloney. Shane would later take over the program at The Bar Downstairs, stating that having mentors like that, learning some of their ideology, got him hooked.

“I got to go all over to hotels, resorts, and islands to help design their bars and programs and get equipment,” Shane says. “But once I was out of the city, I couldn’t go back. I was burnt out on that.”

Wildcat’s menu is a lot snacks and smalls and lends well to sharing. Some of the intro dishes are a cold smoked trout filet with spicy giardiniera, salted butter, and toasted sourdough, boquerones with baby fennel, radish, grapefruit, and black garlic, and this—sweet sausage with pea shoots, scallion, Kyle's homemade kimchi and lime.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by WILDCAT (@ctwildcat)

All the while, Kris, still in Connecticut, had stints at Prime 16 and during the early stages of Brewport, and Shane, now done with the hustle of NYC, would take a spot at Bill Taibe’s Jesup Hall that was vacated by Craig Ventrice.

After Jesup Hall, Shane moved onto being involved in the early days of New Haven’s acclaimed Tavern on State, where Kris and Shane ultimately reconnected, with Kris jumping on staff to help fill in where needed, whether that was running the floor, bartending, or delivering food during COVID shutdowns and restrictions.

After their time at Tavern on State, the McGowans launched a popup tiki cocktail venture called The Lost Flamingo that originally started at Tavern.

Should you require something more substantial and handheld, Wildcat’s burger (white cheddar, roasted garlic aioli, pickled red onion, bibb lettuce) and this fried chicken sandwich with fermented pepper honey, red cabbage, carrot & shishito slaw, and house brined pickles come out of the kitchen in droves.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by WILDCAT (@ctwildcat)

“While Shane and I were looking for a possible space to open something of our own in New Haven, we did some popups with industry friends at Ordinary, the rooftop at The Blake Hotel, a couple at Hachiroku, Old Heidelberg at Graduate, and with Jeff Taibe at Taproot,” Kris says. “We revamp the space, casual, walk-ins only, 80s playlist, tiki style drinks and Asian style food, sometimes with a little Mexican flair. It’s a fun, bar-focused event.”

The Lost Flamingo would go on hold—at least for now—when Mike Farber reached out to Kris and Shane. Farber, who relocated his craft beer driven gastropub from 3000 Whitney Avenue to 0 Depot Avenue, was still trying out different concepts at the Whitney space until he was done with doing so.

“He told us he was done with it, but didn’t want to give it to just anyone,” Kris explains. “He appreciated what we did, so he gave it to us to see what we could do with it. It’s right in our wheelhouse; high ceilings, big bar, but not too big and not too small, about 50-plus seats, half bar, half in the dining room.”

The McGowans would partner with Jonathan Perlich and they’d get to work to open a cocktail focused bar where a short food menu would shine, too.

While doing all the fun renovations, decorating, and going through the steps to get permits, the bar would need a name.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by WILDCAT (@ctwildcat)

“We had a list of names, and it’s funny because we don’t really talk about things in detail because we know how one another thinks, so we have these images for The Lost Flamingo that are a lot of jungle themed pictures and we wanted that tattoo-y kinda route,” Kris says. “Shane’s girlfriend, Lydia, had found these cool black and white prints a while ago, so Shane brought those to meetings. I brought up jaguars and then it became Wildcat. We liked the ambiguous name because we want the space to define the name, not the other way around. Not Wildcat Tavern or The Wildcat, just Wildcat. We didn’t want people to think we’re a high school football team or a sports bar. Quinnipiac is the Bobcats, so it’s not that. They’ll understand what it is when they walk in.”

At Wildcat’s bar, currently a cocktail list that’s 18 concoctions deep (though I’m sure they can make you just about any of the classics), there’s a lot of craft happening. Every tincture, shrub, syrup, and all cordials are homemade. Juices are fresh. And everything is made to order, so there’s no batching going on.

Shane, who’s not only a co-owner, but full time on the bar, still uses some recipes from his past bartending history like his Strength Of 10 (rye, Cynar, Faccia Brutto Centerbe, maraschino liqueur, Peychaud's Bitters), stating that “it’s the first drink I ever got to put on a menu in the city,” and another sentimental cocktail in Slash & Burn (aged cachaça, rhum agricole, Fernet Branca, Créme De Banane, passion fruit, lime) that’s “a variation of an Old Pal named after two of my dogs that passed away.”

What’s on Wildcat’s cocktail list now, may not be as the seasons change with Shane hinting at some hot drinks in the winter, the use of winter spices and “warmer” spirits in other. Even this summer you’ll see fruit usage in the form of watermelon, cantaloupe, and blackberries, and that will change up as the season progresses.

In the kitchen executing an eclectic menu of Asian flavors and modern versions of classics are friends of the McGowans, Malorie Moran, Brian Burns, and Kyle Sorenson (formerly of Brushmill by the Waterfall and Taproot) who have a lot of creative freedom over what they’re putting out.

They do desserts, too.

Pictured: gluten free banana cake, whipped caramel cream, potato chip streusel.

“You can come in for cocktails, small bites, or a full three course dinner if you want,” Kris says. “We’re cocktail forward, but we take our food very seriously. We’re lucky to work with our friends, Malorie and Brian, and Kyle was a late pickup in the game and we’re lucky to have him, too. The food counterbalances everything and people need to be confident that they can come here and get both, not just cocktails, otherwise Wildcat would come and go. Shane and I are focused on the front, cocktails and hospitality, and we let them have a lot of free reign. They’re killing it.”

Shane continues, “It’s cool to watch them (Brian and Malorie) create and be excited, so we’re getting them fun equipment to work with. They’re roommates, too, and always have ideas. They’ve always worked under people, so it’s fun to watch them.”

3000 Whitney Avenue, Hamden
203.390.5972, ctwildcat.com