Have Yourself A Merry Little (Tiki Adjacent) Christmas (Pop Up): Experiencing MIRACLE at the FAT PIGEON

Not long after my recent arrival in the Bay Area for the winter, Kevin (The Ultimate Mai Tai) Crossman posted something on his website about a Christmas pop-up bar in nearby Livermore. How fun! I had heard about Christmas bars popping up in San Francisco and a few other places over the years. Although they weren’t tiki bars, they still sounded like something I’d be interested in. However, I’d never gotten a chance to visit one. 

This year, I was determined to go to the one in Livermore. My dear friend Nedra was coming to town to spend the holidays with me. The pop up could make for an adventurous evening for both of us. 

Adventurous it was. My friend Erich (in whose house we are both staying) didn’t want to go. He was too preoccupied with preparing for the upcoming holiday and the 11 people he would be hosting for Christmas dinner. He had things to do. That left Nedra and I to our own devices. In true Bay Area fashion, we did what we needed to do.  We walked to BART, rode it to the Dublin/Pleasanton stop, and Uber-ed it the rest of the way to Livermore. 

While visions of Christmas-y cocktails danced in my head on the way there, when we arrived at the location around 430, there was already a line out the door.  Hmm. I’d have to let those visions dance on a bit longer.

Actually, we decided it would be prudent to get a bite to eat first, since neither of us had eaten much that day. We ducked into the Greek place next door. After eating, we got in line. The line didn’t seem to have moved at all, but it also didn’t seem any longer than it had been when we first arrived. 

While we waited, I Googled Kevin’s write up about his experience at the bar to share with Nedra. I gave it a reread as well. The bar that is hosting this holiday event is a new place called The Fat Pigeon. Formerly a beer bar (Beer Baron), this new cocktail venture chose to debut itself to the town of Livermore, all wrapped up like a shiny, sparkly Christmas present. The Christmas-y aspect comes courtesy of Miracle, a company that has been creating seasonal saloons and wintery watering-hole wonderland pop ups since 2014. (Where have I been?) These Christmas pop ups are not confined to the Bay Area but can be found nearly worldwide. And just to make sure they make Santa’s “Nice” List (as if providing holiday cheer in a bar wasn’t nice enough), 10% of all profits from the holiday mugs sold at the pop ups benefit the Seva Foundation, a global non-profit eye care organization. Ho ho ho!

As we inched forward in line, we were lucky enough to be the first group of two the hostess could find, as she weaved her way through the waiting crowd. She told us she had a space for us. That was a nice holiday surprise.

Squeezing our way through the crowd in the doorway, it was evident that the fa-la-la-la-la was in full swing here. There were twinkling lights, ornaments and decorations, Christmas trees, and more. Christmas classics blared from overhead speakers. Everyone (except perhaps the very busy staff) seemed to be in a jolly mood. 

We were led to a couple of seats (covered with ginormous Santa hats) at the bar. That turned out to be a good thing. It not only allowed us to order directly from the bartenders, but it also gave us a chance to see all of the various Christmas cocktails being created.

One machine ground up big chunks of ice. A special scooper was then used to form snowballs, which were then dropped into old-fashion glasses to make Snowball Old-Fashioneds. Nifty.

I was going to order a Yippee Ki Yay, Mother F****r, based on what Kevin had written about it in his blog piece, but Nedra beat me to the punch. Instead, I opted to try the drink Kevin’s wife had been enamored with, Marshmallows & Unicorns.

Nedra’s drink, the Yippee Ki Yay Mother F****r, I only got a sample of. It seemed pretty decent., though Nedra found the mix of various rums, ube & coconut orgeat, and acid-adjusted pineapple juice a bit strong. My drink, the Marshmallows & Unicorns thing, sounded like a mix of gin with a liquid fruitcake (vanilla liqueur, velvet falernum, cherry liqueur, cardamom, black pepper, marshmallow, lemon, egg white, tiki bitters, and soda.) It was interesting. There was a lot going on in the drink, but it was ultimately too sweet. (And I usually do not mind sweet drinks.

As we sipped, we got a better chance to look around at the place. While plentiful, it was not over-the top. The décor really added to the whole enchanting experience. There were Santas parachuting in over the bar, a replica of the leg lamp from “A Christmas Story”, and—although there was no chimney—Santa seemed to be stuck coming down through the roof!

While the other staff members mostly wore Christmas sweaters, one of our bartenders was wearing a sparkly bartender elf outfit. She let me take her photo.

Ready for round two, Nedra went with a traditional Hot Buttered Rum (Jamaican rum, velvet falernum, mixed spice butter, oat milk, and nutmeg). She found it delicious and downed it pretty quickly. I chose a Carol Barrel, which contained Irish whiskey, banana liqueur, Jamaican navy strength rum, Guinness punch, lime, aromatic & chocolate bitters, and nutmeg. I’m not exactly sure what the tune was, but the Carol Barrel was singing to my taste buds as the drink went fa-la-la-la-la over my tongue. It was a wild mixture with various flavors hitting me throughout.

I would love to have stayed longer at Miracle at the Fat Pigeon (as the Christmas takeover event is called), but Nedra was done. She’d had her Christmas “spirits” but didn’t want to overdue them (possibly putting her at risk of being on Santa’s “Naughty” List…or at least garnering her a hangover.)

C’est la vie. 

Christmas comes but once a year. There were several other drinks I’d have liked to try, such as the Christmapolitan, Jingle Balls Nog, or Rudolph’s Revenge. Those are the Christmas cocktails that will be dancing in my head until next holiday season. I just hope Santa (or, at least, the Miracle pop-up company) puts a Miracle Christmas Pop Up location near me next year so I can try them. I’ll just have to be a good boy and hope for the best.

(Miracle at the Fat Pigeon runs through January 6th, 2024.)

Cheers!

The Fat Pigeon

2223 First St. 

Livermore, CA 94550

(925)449-1655

http://www.fat pigeon bar.com

Miracle

http://www.miraclepopup.com