In 2014, Greg Boehm learned the value of two important and lasting lessons: never underestimate the power of Christmas, and always listen to your mother.
It was that year the New York restaurateur decided, at the advice of his mom, to halt construction of what was to be his new East Village cocktail bar, Mace, to transform the unfinished space into a pop-up bar serving holiday-themed drinks amidst over-the-top Christmas decorations.
“People basically flooded [it] due to the insane amount of decorations and festive-ness of it,” said Brandi Woodnutt, co-owner of Whistler’s award-winning cocktail bar, The Raven Room.
Called Miracle, the New York City pop-up became such a hit that, by the following year, it had expanded to four other locations. In 2016, Miracle went global, with locations in Montreal, Paris, and Athens. This year, the themed pop-up will festoon tinsel across 144 bars in five countries, including at Whistler’s own Raven Room.
Promising to bring “the nostalgic energy of the best office party you’ve ever been to,” Woodnutt says staff went all out turning the stylish bar into a winter wonderland for the ages.
“We probably put in around 300 man hours of just insane decorations,” she said.
Lining the entire space is 1,000 feet of twinkling Christmas lights. Snowglobes abound. Holly and poinsettias underline the bar. Presents and holiday ornaments hang from the ceiling. There are mini-Christmas trees on every table. Peppermint is a recurring motif. An inflatable, nine-foot-tall Frosty the Snowman dominates the patio. Two different Christmas themes adorn the walls “that kind of look like something out of Whoville,” Woodnutt noted. “It’s definitely incredibly festive.”
It’s Christmas on steroids for even the Christmas-averse.
“Even if you’re not a Christmas person, I’ve had lots of people come in who say they don’t typically like Christmas and then they change their mind when they get a themed drink in a tiki mug,” Woodnutt added. “It’s a whole vibe that Whistler really needed.”
As Woodnutt hinted, the drink menu is similarly festive, featuring 10 themed cocktails that would make Ebenezer Scrooge blush. On top of the holiday favourites, such as hot buttered rum and housemade eggnog, there are updated classics, like the minty Christmas Cricket; the popular “Christmasapolitan,” a variation on a cosmopolitan featuring cranberry sauce, elderflower, rosemary, vermouth, and absinthe; or a winterized take on an old fashioned featuring a handmade snowball that sits in the glass.
Owners are also planning special themed nights “Ugly Sweater Après and Festive Drag Sunday have been thrown around as potential concepts” to coincide with that most wonderful time of the year.
Raven Room is certainly no stranger to pop-ups, although historically they have typically centred around a visiting bartender or brand. Miracle, on the other hand, allows staff to take on an entirely new concept and design for an extended period.
“Pop-ups have become more popular in the cocktail bar scene in the last five or so years. I like Miracle because we get to trade ideas and bring in certain looks and styles and different ideas without having to own a bar in [New York, where the concept began],” Woodnutt said. “Whistler is so magical at Christmastime, and outside of the Fairmont and a few other places that have the budget to really make it colourful with lights and wildly decorated, we just thought it would be nice to go and sit somewhere in a room and be completely engulfed by the spirit of Christmas. You feel like you’re in a snowglobe.”
This year, Miracle is partnering again with the Seva Foundation, with a portion of proceeds from the sale of special themed glassware going to the global non-profit eye care organization that works with local communities around the world to develop self-sustaining programs that preserve and restore sight. Learn more at seva.org.
Check out The Raven Room online at theravenroom.ca or in person inside the Pan Pacific Village Centre Hotel.
