'Tis The Season: Holiday Pop-Up Bars Across the Nation

It’s officially holiday season, and many bars across the country embrace this time of year with themed décor and special menus to enhance the cheer. Holiday and winter pop-up bars abound in December, creating a haven for whisky lovers who want to enjoy their favorite sips while immersed in the wonder of the season. Pull up a seat and enjoy some seasonal and specialty whisky drinks in festively decorated bar spaces. Here are some of our favorite holiday pop-up bars.

Miracle

150 locations nationwide

Nobody does Christmas pop-up bars like the team behind Miracle. The Miracle concept has grown to encompass nearly 150 bars in more than 40 states, plus international locations in seven countries. It works like this—already established bars can join the Miracle team and convert their spaces into decorated and themed Miracle bars for November and December, offering specialty drinks and glassware to fit the holiday season.

In Louisville, Miracle on Market takes over Galaxie Bar, calling itself a sleigh ride into holiday magic with bartenders working as Santa’s elves. For December, the bar offers a Snowball Old Fashioned made with rye and gingerbread syrup and the Blitzen Barrel, comprising scotch mixed with sherry, mead, and sesame. Specialty drinks can be served in holiday glassware that’s available for purchase.

Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., the bar Black Whiskey converts into Miracle on Black Friday and maintains the holiday pop-up theme through December. Black Whiskey has an extensve whisky menu, offering rare labels like Pappy Van Winkle, Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, and Balvenie 25 year old alongside a lengthy list of more accessible whiskies that spans across eight pages of bourbons and ryes and four pages of scotches.

Sippin’ Santa

60 locations nationwide

The folks behind Miracle have also expanded with a tiki-themed holiday pop-up bar concept called Sippin’ Santa, which boasts more than 60 locations in 26 states. Here, Santa is reimagined as a tropical surfer. To fit that theme, rum rules the cocktail menu, but fans of whisky and tequila are not left out. Bitter & Twisted in Phoenix offers a bourbon-based Jingle Bird that incorporates pineapple rum, and Split Decision, blending Tullamore D.E.W. and Monkey Shoulder whiskies with banana madeira, cardamom bitters, and vanilla buttermilk syrup. In Texas, Nickel City has turned its bars in Austin and Houston into Sippin’ Santa locations, and each boasts specialty drinks to complement more than 200 whisky selections.

Holly Jolly

15 locations nationwide

Floor-to-ceiling decorations make it clear that Holly Jolly is all about the Christmas season. The bar concept has locations across the country, from Atlanta and Boston to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Tickets are required to reserve a spot and include one free drink—whisky fans can choose from a selection including a Marshmallow Old Fashioned made with Angel’s Envy and marshmallow syrup (San Francisco) or a Santa’s Little Helper, a maple Old Fashioned (Philadelphia), among others.

Jingle Jangle

New York City & Austin, Texas

Famed New York City bar The Dead Rabbit has transformed into Jingle Jangle, its holiday alter ego, for the fourth year, and its sister location in Austin, Texas, is following suit. Running through early January, the festive bar concept offers kitschy holiday cocktails and over-the-top décor, all honoring The Dead Rabbit’s Irish roots. Whisky plays heavily at the bar throughout the rest of the year, and the holiday season is no different. Jingle Jangle serves cocktails like the Cookies & Cream, made with Teeling Small Batch and Guinness stout beer, plus oat milk, chocolate, vanilla, and coffee, and the Jingle All The Way, blending whiskeys by Jameson, Four Roses, and Four Walls with applejack, cinnamon, vanilla, allspice, grapefruit, and lime. A lengthy list of sipping whiskies, with a focus on Irish labels, is also available.

Santa Baby

Chicago

Back for the seventh year, Santa Baby is a multi-level holiday experience with multiple bars, photo ops, and specialty drinks and food menus. This is a great place to bring a group. The cocktail menu offers shareable drinks like the Jack Frost, made with Jack Daniel’s, crème de cacao, grenadine, lemon, and pineapple, as well as traditionally served offerings like the Elf Fashioned, made with SirDavis rye and cinnamon-rosemary syrup, and the Winter Manhattan, mixing Angel’s Envy with sweet vermouth, aromatic bitters, and Red Bull Winter Edition. Tequila lovers will also be happy at Santa Baby, as the menu lists several agave cocktails. Dinner and brunch are available too.

The Legendary Lodge

Westland, Michigan

This Detroit-metro area venue, better known for its axe-throwing lanes, turns into a ski chalet-themed bar for December, with winter drinks to match, plus themed selfie photo stations and private suites available by reservation. Special winter cocktails include a bourbon-based smoked Old Fashioned and a tequila-based Holiday Berry Margarita.

Joy on the Avenue

Alexandria, Virginia

Located at Del Ray’s Pop-Up Bar—a year-round bar that hosts seasonal pop-ups—Joy on the Avenue is a festive Christmas bar designed around Santa’s post office in the North Pole. The winter bar has nostalgic vibes, and drinks to match. Whiskey lovers will enjoy the Four Wisemen, made with Four Roses Small Batch, orange bitters, and smoked cinnamon simple syrup, or Jimmy Stewart’s Sazerac, named for the star of the classic Christmas movie “It’s A Wonderful Life” and made with Bulleit rye, aromatic and chocolate bitters, and simple syrup. Holiday-themed snacks are also available.

8 Crazy Nights

Chicago

Hannukkah takes center stage at this pop-up bar, located in The Graystone Tavern sports bar in Chicago’s Wrigleyville neighborhood. The bar concept runs through early January and offers a variety of Hanukkah-themed whisky drinks. The Bourbon Shamash mixes Bulleit with lemon, mint, and simple syrup, while the Hebrew Cold Brew blends Proper Twelve with cold brew coffee and cream. Fans of warm drinks can enhance their hot chocolate with Bulleit bourbon or try a Blue Toddy, made with Garrison Brothers HoneyDew bourbon, tea, honey, lemon, and cloves.

Christmas Dive Bar

Seattle

Looking for a low-key holiday drinks experience? Christmas Dive Bar is the spot in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, running through January. The bar describes itself as a sensory explosion and offers winter-themed drinks to match, plus a drag show and brunch on weekends. Along with a Fireball-based Yuletide Toddy and bourbon-based Gingerbread Old Fashioned, cocktails include the Elf Elixir, made with whiskey, lemon juice, spiced honey syrup, allspice dram, and orange bitters.

Noel Christmas Pop-Up Bar

Arvada, Colorado

Known year-round for its whiskey program, Bluegrass Coffee & Bourbon Lounge—with two locations in Arvada, Colorado—transforms into the Noel Christmas Pop-Up Bar for December, and this year the bar is hosting holiday-themed trivia, bingo, karaoke, and craft nights all month long. Whisky drinkers will enjoy specialties like Not My Gumdrop Buttons!, made with Maker’s Mark, plum liqueur, lemon bitters, and sugar syrup, or the Boozy Blitzen’s Nog, mixing eggnog with bourbon, cognac, and rum. The venue’s massive whisky list, which includes special sections for Colorado distilleries and barrel picks, is also available.