IT’S THE HOLIDAYS. You want to grab a boozy drink that’s in line with your festive feelings, and you want to enjoy that drink in a spot full of cheer in the heart of the Duke City. Enter Miracle Bar, a worldwide holiday-themed pop-up experience that collaborates with bars to bedeck them in kitschy decor and electrify patrons with a special menu of master-crafted themed cocktails.
The day after Thanksgiving, Albuquerque cocktail bar Happy Accidents gets one of these makeovers, transforming its signature tropical disco-punk aesthetic into a nostalgic yuletide revelation. “The Miracle Bar pops up in bars around the world,” says bar manager Tammy Bouma. “There are partners in places like Hong Kong, London, and Mexico.”
The Happy Accidents team scours big-box stores looking for “any holiday decoration we can find,” adds Bouma, and meticulously saves every box they receive in November to wrap in holiday paper. “We close the bar for two days and spend the whole time decorating,” she says. Imagine thousands of holiday lights, Hanukkah and Christmas colors, piles of presents, and ornaments creating an atmosphere that’s ripe with photo opportunities.
This holiday season, experience Miracle Bar at Happy Accidents in Albuquerque – a festive, kitschy haven with themed cocktails in a nostalgic yuletide setting.
The Miracle Bar menu has a few mainstays, like the Christmapolitan, which was a favorite of Taylor Swift when she visited a Miracle pop-up in New York City. Made with spiced cranberries and absinthe, it brings a wintry twist to the classic drink. Miracle also stays creative by offering new drinks every year. The Happy Accidents team approaches the Miracle menu with special permission from the folks at the pop-up to adapt the recipes and work with the bar’s own handcrafted spirits. In addition to Miracle’s cocktails, the menu keeps house favorites around. “Just because the bar is decked out for Christmas doesn’t mean you can only get holiday drinks,” Bouma says. “You can still come in and have a really good espresso martini.”
Miracle drinks come in funky glassware—including a mug shaped like a dinosaur in a Santa hat and a highball featuring a vintage Santa sleigh—which you can buy to keep or give as a gift. “The shot glasses are really fun,” Bouma says. “They look exactly like some I noticed on my grandmother’s shelf—straight from the 1960s.” Experience the Christmas miracle through December 31.
Read more: Gather around for a New Mexico–style holiday feast filled with bizcochitos, tamales, posole, tasty drinks, plenty of reminiscences, and new kitchen magic in the making. Don’t forget the chile!
Made by Oscar Leon, a bartender at Happy Accidents since it opened in 2021, the Bizcochito Coquito celebrates his New Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage. It can be made with or without alcohol and is best in big batches.
- 4 pieces star anise
- 4 pieces clove
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 3 cans unsweetened coconut milk*
- 3 cups sugar*
- *You can substitute 6 cans of Coco Lopez instead of coconut milk and sugar
- 1 liter coconut water
- 1⅓ounce freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 drops orange oil (alternatively, 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest)
- 750-ml bottle Puerto Rican rum, optional
Makes 3 liters
1. In a large pot, toast hard spices until fragrant. Add coconut milk and sugar and whisk. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Add the remaining ingredients except rum and whisk to combine.
2. Once cool, add rum. (To make drinks individually, combine 2 ounces of coquito mix with 1.5 ounces of rum.)
Tip: Make coquito mix the day before you want to drink it. It’s best when all the spices have time to rest and infuse together.
