Christmas Cocktail Pop-Up Returning to Chicago at Two Bars [UPDATE]

UPDATE: This popup has moved locations from The Orbit Room to Brando’s Speakeasy at 343 N. Dearborn St. in the South Loop. Named “Miracle on Dearborn,” the new location has its own holiday-themed decor and drinks, including the “Snowball Old Fashioned” (gingerbread bourbon, wormwood bitters, lemon zest) and “How The Gimlet Stole Christmas” (gin, sage, pine & caraway cordial). The original story follows below.

Forget pumpkin-spice season; it’s time to mull winter holiday drinking, as a nationally-touring Christmas cocktail lounge pop-up is heading to two Chicago bars in November. Lost Lake in Logan Square and The Orbit Room in Avondale will host the pop-up — Miracle — from Black Friday, Nov. 24 through Christmas Eve, Dec. 24. Bartenders will serve cocktails like the hot “Bad Santa” and the “Yippie Ki Yay Mother F****r!” (inspired by Bruce Willis’ Die Hard). Meanwhile, patrons will drink inside a space decorated with tinsel, flashing lights, and snowflakes.

Miracle sprouted up four years ago in New York, and organizers have expanded it in partnerships with 52 locations in America, Brazil, Canada, Greece, Hong Kong, and Slovakia. Lost Lake is one of three “Sippin’ Santa’s Surf Shack” locations (along with New York and New Orleans). Sippin’ Santa is Miracle’s tiki bar, and given Lost Lake’s tropical focus it’s a good fit. In August, the Logan Square tiki spot Lost Lake unveiled a new pop-up space that seems an ideal space for Miracle. Paul McGee and Co. also hosted the Sippin’ Santa crew last year.

New owners took over The Orbit Room over the summer. Given the planetary nature of the bar’s name, The Orbit Room’s calling the pop-up “Miracle on Mars.” The bar’s outdoor space will be transformed to a Christmas tree lot selling apartment-sized trees and cacti. Orbit Room’s owners Jeff Donahue and Wade McElroy of newly-formed Leisure Activities are collaborating with Lost Lake’s McGee and Shelby Allison on the venture.

Also, there’s no need to steal a glass at either bar. Customers can purchase glassware, and organizers said they’ll donate 10 percent of those sales to Action Against Hunger, a global charity that fights starvation.

Check out the pop-up’s drink list below.

2017 Miracle Menu

Cocktails

Christmopolitan (vodka, elderflower, dry vermouth, spiced cranberry sauce, rosemary, lime, absinthe mist)

Muletide (mezcal, amontillado sherry, allspice dram, ginger, lemon)

Bad Santa — served hot (mulled red wine, tawny port, orange liqueur, spices, golden raisins)

How The Gimlet Stole Christmas (gin, pine-caraway sage cordial)

Run Run Rudolph (blanco tequila, coffee liqueur, iced hot chocolate, Mexican spices)

You’ll Shoot Your Rye Out (pumpkin-spiced rye whiskey, Budweiser marshmallow syrup, egg)

Snowball Old Fashioned (gingerbread bourbon, wormwood bitters, lemon zest)

Fa La La La La, La La La La (gin, aquavit, hazelnut liqueur, cardamom, vanilla, lemon, egg white, club soda)

Yippie Ki Yay Mother F****r! (Barbados rum, cachaca, Trinidad overproof rum, purple yam — coconut orgeat, pineapple)

Jingle Ball Nog (cognac, amontillado sherry, peanut butter, almond milk, pandan, cream, nougat syrup, egg, nutmeg)

Shots

Nice Shot (rum, peppermint, chocolate)

Naughty Shot (bourbon, cinnamon)