Tag: Christmas

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Miracle Holiday Pop-Up at The Fat Pigeon Livermore

We visited downtown Livermore for a visit to the Miracle holiday cocktail pop-up at The Fat Pigeon. In the year since they opened, the Fat Pigeon has hosted themed pop ups related to the Golden Girls and a witch theme for Halloween, and now Miracle for a second time. The small venue does have a heated tent outside that’s reasonably decorated for the holidays but inside is warmer and more elaborately themed.

The cocktail list for Miracle varies a little from bar to bar, but I stuck with one the cornerstone offerings, the Christmapolitan. Made with vodka, elderflower, dry vermouth, spiced cranberry sauce, lime, and absinthe mist, with a rosemary garnish, the blend of flavors and spices elevates this cocktail and I have to get it at least once per season. I also tried the “Nice Shot” which is rye whiskey and gingerbread syrup, quite nice and thematically on point.

The Fat Pigeon does offer some appetizers and shared plates, though we didn’t partake this time. We like the vibe and service here, plus there’s plenty to do in downtown Livermore before or after if you want to make an evening out of it.

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Miracle Holiday Pop-Up at Brewsters Petaluma

Miracle holiday cocktail popups are seemingly everywhere these days but one of the best is at Brewsters Beer Garden in Petaluma. The expansive venue features Miracle cocktails such as the Christmapolitan and Yippe Ki Kay Mother F****r, but also their own eggnog and glogg, so it can be worth it to check out more than Miracle location.

We went to Brewsters twice this week around lunchtime to find the place to be packed but not so much that food and drink orders were delayed. There is lots of covered seating and heat lamps, even plastic sheeting for protection in the case of rain. There is an explosion of holiday decor and holiday music, plus a sleigh for group photos. The staff have themes for how they dress, as one day was ugly sweater and another was pajamas.

The cocktails are really great here, and I was quite impressed by the Elfing Around with cognac, mulled wine reduction, sparkling wine, lemon, bitters, and absinthe since I don’t usually like mulled wine but the balance of other ingredients was perfect. I also loved the Crooked Antler with brandy, ruby port, chestnut orgeat. acid adjusted orange juice, and lapsang tea. Cappy’s World Famous Eggnog was tasty but the portion was fairly small. Brewsters sells some cocktails and their eggnog to go, plus Miracle merchandise and other holiday items.

We think the food is pretty good here and enjoy Petaluma’s antique stores and shops that are great for a stroll afterwards. Brewsters is always a highlight of the holiday cocktail season.

Eggnog, Stocking Stuffer, Crooked Antler
Elfing Around
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Sugar Plum Mai Tai at Sippin’ Santa

We had a great time in downtown Pleasanton’s Beer Baron for their first year hosting the Sippin’ Santa holiday popup, produced by Miracle and Jeff “Beachbum” Berry. The tropical and holiday decor was nicely done, including a Beachbum nutcracker! We were seated in the upstairs room, so much more quiet than the main room and patio.

One of the new additions to the Sippin’ Santa menu this year is a Sugar Plum Mai Tai, featuring Haitian and Nicaraguan rums, lime, orgeat, cinnamon syrup, and plum mix. The cinnamon is dialed way down and this tastes like a standard Mai Tai with a mild fruity finish from the plum mix. The rums here are approachable but they’re still appropriately forward in the drink, making this a really great Mai Tai to try. The shark mug doesn’t really have anything to do with the cocktail, but its pretty nice and priced to sell at $20, so we took it home.

Other cocktails were generally excellent also, including a rich and creamy Tom and Sherry, a White Russian riff called Holiday on Ice, and the sweet and mild Frosty the Merman. We thought the icy texture of the Choquito left the rest of the drink a little bland.

Our food was really great at Beer Baron including a Bavarian pretzel with queso cheese and I loved my burger and fries. Even on a Tuesday night before Thanksgiving there was a sizable crowd, but our server was so friendly and attentive we hardly noticed any delays in drink orders. Given this is the first year for the holiday pop-up, expect large crowds through the holiday season.

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Sippin’ Santa at 55 South / Miracle on 1st in Downtown San Jose

The holiday season continues in downtown San Jose where two holiday cocktail pop-ups are still pulling in revelers. Both Sippin’ Santa and Miracle offer a variety of festive cocktails along with interesting and fun glassware that’s available for sale.

Sippin’ Santa at 55 South

We started at 55 South for Sippin’ Santa, the tiki-themed holiday pop-up produced with Jeff “Beachbum” Berry. The new cocktail and mug this year is Sharkey’s First Christmas, featuring vodka, aquavit, melon and walnut liqueur, lime and pineapple juices. Mrs. Mai Tai thought this was pretty good and I have to agree it was a nice twist and the mug is pretty good too. I had Sippin’ Santa cocktail that has Demerara rum, amaro, lemon, orange, and gingerbread mix – an all time favorite mug and the cocktail is always great too.

The team at 55 South did a good job with the drinks and decor again this year, though the music for our experience was a Sade playlist followed by mid-1950s rock ‘n roll hits. So, not really the holiday vibe. We arrived early and the crowd was sparse, but grew later in the evening.

55 South

Miracle on 1st is at Paper Plane across the street and continues to impress. The decor is elaborate here, and we found the service at the bar to be quite efficient and super friendly. I was driving and asked for something non-alcoholic and received a very nice juicy highball that was fantastic. Mrs. Mai Tai had the excellent Marshmallows & Unicorns, the complex cocktail with gin, several liqueurs, lemon, egg white, bitters, and cardamon. Our friends really liked their Carol Barrel and Hot Buttered Rum, two Miracle standouts. Crowds grew during our visit and there was a line when we left, so go early if you can.

Miracle on 1st at Paper Plane

Miracle has a larger cocktail menu than Sippin’ Santa and the more varied options seem offer something for everyone. Sippin’ Santa added a holiday spritz this year but we think the smaller menu is a deterrent for many potential patrons. Adding a couple more cocktails would help for 2024.

Sharkey’s First Christmas
Sippin’ Santa Cocktail
Juicy Highball
Marshmallows & Unicorns
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Miracle Holiday Pop-Up at Brewsters Petaluma

Had a fabulous lunch with friends at Brewsters Beer Garden in Petaluma. This vast space was completely covered in holiday decorations and despite the name does have a strong cocktail program as well. So, the inclusion of the cocktail-focused pop-up from Miracle is not unexpected.

Saturday was unusually warm, which might have swelled the crowds and made it seem like everyone in the city was at Brewsters. But the effectiveness of the staff meant that our drinks and food came out quite quickly and prepared expertly. The food here leans on brisket and ribs, plus salads and sandwiches.

Brewsters does Miracle a little differently by including a couple of original cocktails on their menu that aren’t seen at other Miracle pop-up locations. We really loved Cappy’s World Famous Eggnog. Normally “world famous” in the title is a red-flag but indeed this was some really great nog, and plenty boozy thanks to the Smith & Cross overproof rum. There’s also The Krampus featuring Tequila, Sherry, and Mezcal – and served in a unique Krampus mug that’s also for sale. Miracle cocktail favorites are available too, including the wonderfully spicy and completely delicious Carol Barrel.

As with other Miracle locations, mugs, glassware, and other merch is for sale. You can even buy to-go bottles of Cappy’s World Famous Eggnog.

Brewsters has been doing Miracle for several years and have the routine down pat. Be sure to check out now through January 2nd, reservations recommended.

Cappy’s World Famous Eggnog
Carol Barrel
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Miracle Holiday Pop-Up at the Fat Pigeon Livermore

The Fat Pigeon is the new name for the former Beer Baron in Downtown Livermore, newly reimagined as a cocktail bar. And just in time for the grand opening it’s doing the Miracle Holiday Pop-Up to acquaint guests. As such, the holiday decor was at a basic level and definitely not overflowing like places that have been doing these pop-ups for years. Nonetheless it was totally festive with music and plenty of good cheer from the guests.

That good cheer was put to the test due a staff member arriving late and also to an imprecise order for tables to be serviced (guess which table seemed to be in the black hole?). These issues can arise anytime but obviously when places are new and also super busy.

This year’s Miracle offerings were just as nicely varied as in past years, where classic cocktails get the holiday spice and ingredient twists to go along with festive names and fun glassware.

The Jingle Balls Nog was just okay, but we liked the Espresso Martini riff called Rudolph’s Replacement (served in the classic “Santa Rex” mug). Old favorite Yippee Ki Yay, Mother F****r is a Piña Colada riff with Ube Orgeat and just as great this year as it was last time. The Koala Cooler features Applejack and spice and I think felt the most like a Fall/Winter drink. The Christmapolitan had some really interesting flavors including a spiced cranberry syrup and it had a little bit of an apple taste to me, but still quite good. Elfing Around #2 with cognac and champagne was elegant and the mulled wine reduction served the holiday theme very well.

New this year is Marshmallows & Unicorns, served in a mug that was right up Mrs. Mai Tai’s alley. Definitely a little sweet leaning and including soda to lighten things up, this was a treat for several senses. The mug was priced at $20 at Fat Pigeon.

We really enjoyed our time at Miracle and are pleased to see a good new cocktail place in Livermore.

Christmapolitan
Yippee Ki Yay, Mother F****r
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Portland Syrups Spiced Cranberry Syrup

I picked up Portland Syrups Spiced Cranberry Syrup at an art/food store in Santa Cruz last month and thought it would be a good time to try this in some cocktails. The syrup has a good cranberry and spice taste, however the syrup is very thin. Like less than a 1:1 sugar to water ratio, it seems.

I tried this in a number of cocktails, basically simple sour riffs with Bourbon, Gin, and Scotch. In no cases could I really taste the cranberry syrup, even when I used more of the syrup than I normally would use in these cocktails. The cranberry taste was totally lost.

I had the same experience when making a Spiced Cranberry Manhattan, a recipe from the Portland Syrup website. It looked pretty but tasted like … a Manhattan. Not a Manhattan with cranberry.

Bah humbug.