‘Tis the season for being jolly.
Or, as Sally once noted, “a lot of suicides.”
Helping you keep up your Yuletide spirit (or shall we say spirits): Miracle, the Xmas-themed pop-up bar with more than 50 locations, pouring worldwide until Dec. 24th.
Miracle originated in 2014 at NYC’s Mace, a spice-forward speakeasy that’s also a frequent inclusion on the World’s 50 Best Bars list.
This year, Miracle’s wintry takeover — a collaboration with barware gurus Cocktail Kingdom — has expanded to more than 50 cities worldwide, and definitely to a cocktail den near you. Seriously: You can currently experience it everywhere from Asheville, NC, to Worcester, MA, and everywhere in-between (see the full list of participating watering holes here).
MACE (8 images)
Each Miracle pop-up features seasonally themed concoctions from Mace manager Joanna Spiegel and bartender Nico de Soto (Mace, Danico), from a Snowball Old Fashioned (complete with gingerbread bourbon) to the fruity, Die Hard-themed Yippie Ki Yay Mother F*cker (a rum/cachaca/pineapple explosion).
And yes, Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
Other winners: Bad Santa (a hot red wine/port tipple), a mezcal-y Muletide and You’ll Shoot Your Rye Out, an amazing blend of pumpkin-spiced rye whiskey, egg and an actual Budweiser-Marshmallow syrup.
Everything is served in custom Cocktail Kingdom holiday glassware and surrounded by appropriately festive decor. Oh, and there are shots: a rum/peppermint/chocolate hit (Nice Shot) and a bourbon/cinnamon burner (Naughty Shot).
The best part of these limited-edition drinkeries? The cocktails are decidedly not home-bar friendly. These are complex recipes that demand you go out, sit down and enjoy the work of a trained professional.
Miracle, now open, will continue until closing time on Christmas Eve.
Below: Maybe the only recipe from Miracle that you’d even want to attempt at home. Otherwise, leave the complex drinks construction to the guy with the Santa hat and Brooklyn moustache.
Run Run Rudolph
- 1.5 oz. Blanco Tequila
- 0.5 oz. Galliano Ristretto Coffee Liqueur
- 6 oz. cold hot chocolate*
Build drink in ice-filled Collins glass. Top with fresh whipped cream, cinnamon / cacao nib dust (2:1 ground cacao nibs to ground cinnamon).
*Cold Hot Chocolate
- 1 packet Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate
- 6 oz. water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 whole cloves
- 2 long peppers
- 0.25 tsp. paprika
Crack and toast dry spices in a dry saucepan over medium high heat, until aromatic (do NOT grind spices — flavor will extend too far). Add the water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and add the Swiss Miss. Stir, bring mixture back to a low simmer. Turn off heat and allow to cool (do not allow the spices to steep too long), then pour through a mesh strainer to remove any graininess from the spices. Bottle and chill.
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