ASHEVILLE – A New York Christmas tradition has found its way to Asheville and spreading holiday joy by way of “Christmapolitans” and “Ginger Snap” cocktails.
Miracle and Sippin’ Santa pop-up bar concepts have become a holiday hit with its original handcrafted cocktail menu, specialty glassware, and holiday-themed venues offered exclusively at its nearly 200 participating locations worldwide.
What began as a lone holiday celebration at the flagship New York location, Miracle on 9th Street (at The Cabinet Mezcal Bar), the popular series has transformed select bars into festive oases overflowing with spirits and cheer.
On Nov. 24, Miracle was scheduled to make its seasonal debut at The Golden Pineapple, 503 Haywood Road in West Asheville.
On Nov. 20, Sippin’ Santa was introduced at The Tiki Easy Bar, a tiki-style cocktail speakeasy inside Hi-Wire Brewing’s South Slope location at 197 Hilliard Ave.
“You’re transported to a tropical Christmas vacation. … When you come in here, you’re on vacation. Leave all your troubles at the door,” said Justin Oliver, bar manager of The Tiki Easy Bar. “Who doesn’t want to go to Hawaii for the holidays?”
Here’s what’s pouring at each location through New Year’s Day.
Miracle at The Golden Pineapple
For four years, The Golden Pineapple has hosted Miracle at the restaurant bar.
“I love Christmas, so I fully embrace it,” said co-owner Katey Ryder. “It’s kind of become one of those things. … You go to Grove Park Inn every year, you go to the Arboretum and do all the Christmas things. Now, Miracle is one of those things as well, for the adults. It’s a tradition now.”
Miracle provides cocktail menu recipes and themed glassware (available for purchase), but each bar decides its Christmas décor style, making it a unique experience from place to place.
“The theme is just insanity Christmas on every corner of the wall,” Ryder said.
On the Miracle menu
Each drink is served in a different themed mug with several new items offered this season, including Rudolph’s Replacement, The Krampus, and Marshmallows & Unicorns.
The Snowball Old-Fashioned is the No. 1 selling drink each year, Ryder said.
The classic cocktail gets a flair of holiday flavors, made with rye, gingerbread, aromatic bitters, wormwood bitters and orange essence.
“All the drinks have holiday spice to it, so it’s like a gingerbread cookie Old Fashioned,” Ryder said. “It’s a little bit less on the sweet side than some of the other drinks and it comes on a snowball in the middle of your glass.”
The Christmapolitan, a spiced cranberry cosmopolitan, is a “heavy-hitter” that customers love, made with vodka, elderflower, dry vermouth, spiced cranberry sauce, lime, rosemary and absinthe mist.
The Krampus consists of reposado tequila, oloroso sherry, allspice dram, mezcal, ginger, hibiscus, lime and hellfire bitters.
Marshmallows & Unicorns contains gin, vanilla liqueur, velvet falernum, cherry liqueur, cardamom, black pepper, marshmallow, lemon, egg white, tiki bitters and soda.
The Golden Pineapple will offer its regular dining menu with seasonal specials, such as the Thanksgiving sandwich made with pastrami-spiced roast turkey, green bean casserole and stuffing with cranberry mayo served on bread. And the ribeye cheesesteak will return due to popular demand.
“It’s the ultimate holiday cocktail experience,” Ryder said. “It’s a lot of fun and it’s really silly and the drinks are really good, and our food is really good. It’s a good time of the year, if you haven’t been to Golden Pineapple, come to Golden Pineapple, then come back in the new year.”
Sippin’ Santa at The Tiki Easy Bar
Sippin’ Santa, presented by Beachbum Berry, is a concept crafted for tiki bars with tropical islands and beach themes melding with Christmas.
In previous years, The Montford Bar has hosted Sippin’ Santa but passed the tiki torch to the new The Tiki Easy Bar, which opened in the summer as Hi-Wire Brewing’s first cocktail bar.
To find the speakeasy-style bar, cut through Hi-Wire’s taproom and follow the path of holiday décor and tropical bird sounds.
“Sippin’ Santa was founded by a gentleman named Beachbum Berry. He’s sort of a tiki Indiana Jones,” Oliver said. “A lot of these recipes were the classics we heard of because – Mai Tais or Zombies – and they were secret recipes and lost almost forever but he took a liking to tiki bars back in the ’90s … and made it his goal to find out what these legendary drinks were made of because they were secret.”
The classic tiki drinks are enhanced with seasonal spices and flavors and served in an assortment of specialty Christmas-themed tiki glassware, available for purchase.
The Tiki Easy Bar’s tropical-themed venue has been decked out with Christmas trees and lights and other holiday décor to further make it an escape destination.
“It’s already an over-the-top room, now we’ve added all these decorations, as well,” Oliver said. “You go to any other place and get a rocks glass or beer mug. All these drinks are in holiday-themed tiki mugs. They’re unique drinks with unique ingredients you’re not going to find anywhere else.”
On the Sippin’ Santa cocktail menu
The Sippin’ Santa menu has beloved favorites like the original Sippin’ Santa, Jingle Bird and Holiday on Ice, as well as several new additions, including Surf Nut, Sharkey’s First Christmas and Ginger Snapper.
The original Sippin’ Santa is made with aged Demerara rum, amaro, lemon, orange and gingerbread mix.
“It’s light, citrusy and refreshing and has a gingerbread finish on the palate,” Oliver said.
Ho Ho Hot Buttered Rum is served hot and made with navy strength rum, spiced honey butter, vanilla and passion fruit.
The bartenders are putting an extra touch on specialty ingredients, like infused macadamia nuts and using whipped cream chargers to give each drink a special touch.
The North Pole Bowl is a double-sized drink for two that contains Martinique and Jamaican rums, black tea, trice-spiced honey, lime and vanilla syrup. It’s served in a bowl that is made to look like a couple of “tiki guys” hanging out in a hot tub.
The Secret Santa is an undisclosed cocktail that changes weekly and is available upon request.
“You have to come down to try it,” Oliver said.
Miracle at The Golden Pineapple
Where: 503 Haywood Road, Asheville.
Opened: Nov. 24.
Hours: 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Monday-Tuesday; 5 p.m.-12 a.m. Thursday; 5 p.m.-1 a.m. Friday; 3 p.m.-1 a.m. Saturday; 3 p.m.-12 a.m. Sunday.
Info: View the full menu at goldenpineapplebar.com and follow on Instagram @thegoldenpineapplebar.
Sippin’ Santa at The Tiki Easy Bar
Where: 197 Hilliard Ave., downtown Asheville.
Opened: Nov. 20.
Hours: 3-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 3 p.m.-12 a.m. Friday; noon-12 a.m. Saturday; noon-9 p.m. Sunday.
Info: View the full menu at tikieasybar.com and follow on Instagram @thetikieasybar.
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Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with asubscription to the Citizen Times.
