Following the success of its internationally recognized Christmas-themed pop-up bars Miracle and Sippin’ Santa, Miracle Cocktails Inc. has launched The Haunting, its first Halloween pop-up bar experience. The concept is debuting at roughly 45 bar locations this month, offering an immersive Halloween encounter that includes decorations, glassware, and drinks designed to create a spooky and nostalgic atmosphere reminiscent of a haunted house. The cocktails are a highlight.
“The Haunting is similar to Miracle and Sippin’ Santa in that all three are immersive, cocktail-focused experiences with a heavy dose of nostalgia,” says Greg Boehm, founder and CEO of Miracle Cocktails Inc. and the barware company Cocktail Kingdom, which makes all the themed glassware for the company’s pop-up bars. “We focus on high-quality drinks, unique collectible glassware, curated playlists, and nostalgic entertainment. Halloween is one of the most beloved and universally celebrated holidays, but it’s never had its own immersive cocktail experience.”
Boehm says the bar partners who host Miracle—totaling about 200 locations worldwide—have asked about a similar concept for Halloween for the last few years. “Our Miracle partners see so much success during the Christmas season that a lot of them have asked us to bring that same magic to Halloween,” Boehm adds. “The Haunting felt like a natural extension of what we’d already built and a chance to give people a transportive cocktail experience during a completely different season.”
That experience centers around themed cocktails. The Haunting’s menu lists specialty drinks like the Hex Appeal, a blend of London dry gin, peanut butter whiskey, Campari, house-made coconut pandan syrup, celery bitters, and lemon juice, served in a ceramic cauldron, and the Liquid Lobotomy, a mix of Jamaican and gold rums, velvet falernum liqueur, pumpkin-spiced pineapple syrup, lime juice, and aromatic bitters, served in a mug made to look like a doll’s head. Along with cocktails, the bar offers a signature shot and spirit-free drinks, too. The Haunting’s custom glassware includes not only the cauldron and doll head, but also a clown mug, a jack-o-lantern shot glass, and branded Collins, rocks, and Nick & Nora glasses, all of which can be purchased at each bar location. Because The Haunting has locations around the country, the concept does not mandate specific spirits brands or set drinks prices for its cocktails, giving bar partners some autonomy for what works best at their venue and market.
“The Haunting’s cocktail menu is strategically engineered to capture the mystery, mischief, and theatrical flair of Halloween,” says Joann Spiegel, vice president of Miracle Cocktails Inc. “Our offerings bridge the gap between highconcept cocktails and approachable horror themes in pop culture, while leveraging custom glassware and mugs to turn a standard beverage purchase into a multi-sensory keepsake experience. Our program is designed to transform everyday bars into wonderfully strange, high-energy destinations.”
The Haunting debuts in 45 bars this month and will run through November 1 at participating locations. The initial set of partner bars spans 22 states, plus Norway, England, and Canada. Boehm notes that the concept has big room for growth and he expects it to rival Miracle in terms of locations within a few years. He believes The Haunting can grow at a faster rate than Miracle, which debuted with one location in 2014, reached four locations in 2016, and boasted roughly 200 bar partners last year. In all, across all three brands—Miracle, Sippin’ Santa, and The Haunting—Miracle Cocktails Inc. has more than 300 pop-up locations.
“We expect The Haunting to be a mainstay moving forward at bars across the world,” Boehm says. “The Haunting stands out for its dedication to the whimsy and charm of an old-school Halloween get-together while serving world class cocktails in creepy drinkware created by our team at Cocktail Kingdom. I predict The Haunting, with Miracle and Sippin’ Santa, will grow together in every sense.”