Miracle Pop-Up at Madrina’s: Booze, Bells and Chestnut Shells

Take a break from “stocking” up on gifts for everyone else.

We all know holiday shopping is a headache. What size shirt does Jenny wear again? What’s Brad’s favorite movie? What was that newest trend that some random blogger on the internet told me was “in?”

Well ho-ho-hold your horses if you’re starting to turn into a big old Grinch. Santa suit up, hop into your toboggan and slide yours “elf” on down to Miracle pop-up at Madrina’s downtown.

Give your poor (egg)noggin a break because from November 23 to December 22, Miracle will be coming down the chimney at Madrina’s downtown and transforming it into a winter wonderland. Those halls are decked from rafters to floorboards with the most over-the-top Christmas decor; even Scrooge won’t be able to resist caroling.

What is Miracle pop-up? It started in New York City in 2014 when creator Greg Boehm halted the construction of his bar Mace and turned the space into a holiday themed cocktail bar. Boehm’s idea was a huge success and other bars began to adopt the concept.

Now, Miracle is a gift that will be unwrapped in over 80 locations (snow)globally.

Cocktails range from the “Snowball Old-Fashioned” to the “Yippie Ki Yay Mother F****r!” and from the “Gingerbread Flip” to the “Koala-La La La, La La La La.”

While my favorite was definitely the “Yippie Ki Yay Mother F****r!,” I still decided to go ahead and accept that I’m on the naughty list; so I ordered four cocktails, even though there are even more to choose from. I gave myself enough variety to really run the gamut of flavors, and the aptly named “Yippie Ki Yay Mother F****r!” is superb.

It’s full of flavor, made with sweet potato Barbados rum, cachaça, Trinidad Overproof rum, dry curacao, marshmallow orgeat and lime.

I’m also a big classic old-fashioned guy, so I had to get the Snowball Old-Fashioned made with butterscotch rye, spiced demerara, wormwood bitters and orange zest.

As more of a beer person, I only know about 55% of the ingredients in each cocktail, so every drink is like trying to guess the mystery flavor of a Dum-Dum lollipop.

They’re all delightful, but after the first cocktail (mine was the “Yippie Ki Yay Mother F****r!”) and shot go down, can you really trust the sharpness of your palette anymore? It’s also a reference to Die Hard, which some actually consider to be the greatest Christmas movie of all time.

With plenty more to choose from, Miracle has something to suit every unique snowflake in your group and “yule” definitely have something to cheer about.

Bring your friends, bring your family, bring your coworkers (even the rude”olph” one) and head to Miracle on University to get Blitz”ened.”

The Miracle pop-up at Mardina’s will be running until Saturday, December 22. As a nod to their Cuban roots, they will be throwing a “Noche Buena, Christmas” blowout party.

Get there early because the line can get longer than Santa’s list. But the wait can best be described as the joy you had as a child in line to see Santa at the mall—well worth the wait.

Located:  Nine W University Ave, Gainesville, Fla.

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