Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Miracle holiday cocktail pop-up takes over Sand Dollar Lounge this week

Sand Dollar

Brock Radke

The Christmas Carol Barrel is just one of several holiday cocktails at Miracle at the Sand Dollar Lounge.

The Sand Dollar Lounge has always been a festive place, known for decades as a favorite local dive with great blues bands, and more recently, for impeccable cocktails. But the Spring Mountain Road favorite will be transformed into a magical winter wonderland this week through New Year’s Eve when it becomes the first-ever Las Vegas location of Miracle, a family of Christmas-themed pop-up installations serving holiday cocktails in over-the-top settings across the country.

The Miracle concept was created five years ago when New York City bar owner Greg Boehm halted construction of his new establishment and transformed the unfinished space into a pop-up bar serving holiday-themed drinks with outrageously kitschy Christmas decorations. Crowds formed and other industry folks wanted to know how they could borrow the idea, and Miracle expanded to four locations the second year. In 2016, it went worldwide.

But it’s never been to Las Vegas until now. The Sand Dollar is switching over its entire drink menu for the Miracle run, creating specialty Christmas cocktails like the Bad Santa (a hot drink made with rum, black chai tea, date-infused oat milk and vanilla syrup) and the Jingle Balls Nog (brown butter and cinnamon-washed cognac, Amontillado sherry, almond milk, cream, sugar, egg, vanilla and nutmeg). The drinks will be served in special mugs and glassware that are available for purchase, including eggnog mugs and rocks glasses decorated with Santa and his reindeer.

The décor will be just as amazing as the cocktails. When the Sand Dollar opens on Monday at 4 p.m., the Miracle transformation will be complete. Co-owner Anthony Jamison didn’t want to give away any details, but he did mention a “psychedelic gingerbread house” that will be constructed near the stage.

“I told them to go nuts on the lights,” Jamison said. “This is the first Miracle bar [in Las Vegas] so we’re sort of representing our city.”

He’s already booked several private events over the holiday season but most nights, the Miracle at Sand Dollar will be open to all, first come first serve. The bar is adjusting at least one policy — there will be no smoking until after midnight.

The Sand Dollar will also be serving excellent pizza from its new corner kitchen and the menu was recently updated. Among the options are pizza and calzone options are the Free Bird, loaded with barbecue chicken, the three-cheese and veggie Nights in White Satin and the spicy garlic chicken and veggie-laden Little Red Rooster. The bar is located at 3355 Spring Mountain Road and is open from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. Monday through Saturday and from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. Sunday.