Christmas Pop-Up Bar in Boston: Shore Leave’s Sippin’ Santa

After taking a year off during the Covid-19 pandemic, South End cocktail den Shore Leave is one of 22 bars across the nation to host Sippin’ Santa, a Christmas cocktail pop-up created by tropical drink legend Jeff “Beachbum” Berry. From now until New Year’s Day, Shore Leave’s subterranean space is transformed into “Santa’s Surf Shack,” replete with strung lights, stockings and faux snow galore, and a menu of tropical drinks created by Berry. Among the libations are returning favorites like the rum swizzle Christmas Eve of Destruction, alongside newcomers like the White Russian Christmas, made with vodka, dark-roast cold brew coffee, sweetened condensed milk, ancho chile liqueur, and cinnamon syrup.

“The drink is a take on a White Russian, but trying to add flavors that bring some levity and a little more interest,” says Shore Leave beverage director Ryan Lotz. “The coffee, combined with chili and cinnamon, evokes a nod to mole sauce, and the sweetened condensed milk starts to take this into dessert drink territory.”

For an edible pairing, Lotz suggests the similarly lowbrow Classic New Englander hot dog or a Dungeon Burger that slathers beef with American cheese, hot mustard, and kewpie mayo on a soft potato bun. The two menu items are a “fun, timeless duo.”

For what it’s worth, we imagine that Santa would take milk and a cheeseburger over milk and cookies any night, too.