Dec. 19—From the festive themed libations to the glassware to the over-the-top decor, Miracle in Albuquerque and Sippin’ Santa in Santa Fe have your holiday cocktail lounge experience covered through Monday, Dec. 30.
This is the third year Miracle has taken over Happy Accidents in Nob Hill and turned it into a holiday oasis. Returning guests will see a few patron favorites back on the menu such as the Christmapolitan comprised of vodka, dry vermouth, elderflower, cranberry, orange, mulling spices and lime, and the Snowball Old-Fashioned made with whiskey, gingerbread syrup, bitters and absinthe.
New additions to the Miracle cocktail menu include the Stocking Stuffer, a “cold hot chocolate” with whiskey, sherry and cinnamon; the Christmasaurus featuring pineapple rum, mezcal, apricot liqueur, coconut milk and more; the Crooked Antler made with brandy, vanilla liqueur, orange juice and lapsang tea; the Santa Slide featuring whiskey, creme de cacao, caramelized orange syrup and mole bitters, and the Koala LaLaLa created with tequiliana, apple syrup, lemon, tamarind, eucalyptus and mint.
The national franchise pop-up, Miracle, is celebrating its 10th year. The concept began in New York by friends of Kate Gerwin, who is an award-winning bartender and co-owner of Happy Accidents.
“There’s certain glassware and cocktails, and then we add our own things, because there wasn’t really a Hanukkah or a Kwanzaa aspect,” Gerwin said. “We added a couple of other cocktails that kind of celebrate other religions and other cultures.”
Gerwin also appreciates that there is a charity aspect to the pop-up as well. At the end of the holiday season, Miracle donates 10% of the proceeds from the sale of Santa Pants, Christmas Carol Barrel and Santa Heads signature glassware to the Seva Foundation, a global nonprofit eye care organization that works with local communities around the world, according to the pop-up news release.
“The whole idea is really just kind of creating something super fun, super festive,” Gerwin said. “… There’s just not a lot going on around (town). We have the River of Lights and a few things, but we just didn’t seem to have some type of immersive cocktail holiday experience. So we kind of thought, ‘Oh, let’s do this. It should be fun, and we’ll see how people react to it.'”
Miracle has had an overwhelming response in Albuquerque, according to Gerwin.
“We had people lined out the door,” she said. “People ask for it every year, and the staff really loves it. They’re totally engaged. It’s a little bit of a break from the norm of what we do in our own cocktails, and we get to do something different, break out of our normal character, and do something fun and festive for people.”
For the first time, Sippin’ Santa is taking over As Above, So Below Distillery in Santa Fe.
“Sippin’ Santa is a holiday tiki pop-up that is put on by the same folks that put on Miracle,” said Caley Shoemaker, co-founder and master distiller at As Above, So Below. “This one is more tiki themed with cocktails created by (Jeff) ‘Beachbum’ Berry and Beachbum Berry is kind of a big personality in the tiki world. Our tasting room and lounge has been taken over by Christmas cheer and tiki cocktails. It’s just fun, honestly, as we make our way through the holidays.”
There are a wide range of drinks on the Sippin’ Santa cocktail menu, including the Holiday on Ice, which resembles a white Russian that has been infused with cinnamon and chile.
“Most are inspired by classic tiki drinks, things like the Jungle Bird, but the holiday version we’re serving is called the Jingle Bird, and it comes in a fun pelican-shaped glass,” Shoemaker said. “Things like Puerto Rican coquito, we’ve got a white chocolate version. We’ve got sort of like a tiki riff on an Aperol spritz on the menu.”
The cocktails are served in fun barware such as a Santa merman mug and glassware in the shape of a bird.
“The Silent Nightcap, it’s like a little shot that’s made with chocolate liqueur and coffee and mint and orange liqueur,” Shoemaker said.
“It’s just kind of a good time. It’s a lot of fun. All the drinks are really Christmas infused with baking spice type flavors and cinnamon and coffee, all the things you want to enjoy when it’s cold outside, but with a little bit of a tropical riff.”