New Haven’s 116 Cocktail Bar by Hachiroku, in collaboration with Hamden’s Wildcat, hosted a Spritz Fest on July 13. The event celebrated the food and drink of Japanese culture with Japanese barbecue, including premium cuts of wagyu beef and grilled shellfish. Wildcat Co-owners Chris and Shane McGowan and 116 Cocktail Bar by Hachiroku Bar Manager Caroline Flaherty each created several original Japanese-inspired spritzes, including traditional chuhais cocktails, Japanese highballs and Kakigori, a shaved ice dessert served in cocktail form.
-
- Chris McGowan, Co-owner, Wildcat.
-
- Chris McGowan, Co-owner, Wildcat making the Strawberry Painkiller.
-
- The Strawberry PainKiller: Kakigori Japanese shaved ice, rum, pineapple, orange, coconut and strawberry.
-
- Yuta Kamori, Owner, 116 Cocktail Bar by Hachiroku.
-
- Guests enjoyed grilled jumbo shrimp and Hokkaido scallops.
-
- A Wagyu steak, a traditional Japanese grilling meat.
-
- Grilled Tontoro pork jowl sizzles on the grill.
-
- Caroline Flaherty, Bar Manager, 116 Cocktail Bar by Hachiroku.
-
- The Chuhai to the Sky cocktail: Shochu, Midori, blistered shishito agave and pineapple seltzer.
-
- The French Noir cocktail: gin, yuzu, blueberry, blackberry and sesame orgeat topped with sparkling sake.
-
- The Move Oolong cocktail, a blend of Shochu, mango, kambu lime oleo and oolong tea.
-
- Shane McGowan, Co-owner, Wildcat with guests.
-
- Yamitsuki cabbage paired with a specialty cocktail.
Photos by Alejandro Villacorta.
