‘Miracle’ on Magnolia Avenue: Christmas-themed cocktails will last till the New Year at Proper

FORT WORTH Ordinarily, Proper, the Magnolia Avenue cocktail bar, is pretty down to earth. Classic cocktails, simple setting east of Hemphill, sandwiched between Thai restaurant Spice and Fixture Kitchen and Social Lounge.

During December, however, Proper has looked festive, even gift-wrapped, as it has been participating in “Miracle,” a Christmas-themed cocktail bar that started in 2014 in New York City and has representation in other cities as well.

In some cities, “Miracle” ends on Christmas Eve. And yes, we’re a little late in getting to it, but the good news is that Proper’s “Miracle in Cowtown” will last through New Year’s Eve (technically, the first couple of hours of New Year’s Day.

The 10-drink Miracle menu includes such cocktails as the you-probably-should-sing-to-order-it “Fa La La La La, La La La La” (gin, aquavit, hazelnut liqueur, cardamom, vanilla, lemon, egg white and club soda” and the “Yippie Ki Yay Mother ...” — you know the rest if you’ve seen the Christmas classic “Die Hard” — which consists of Barbados rum, cachaça, Trinidad overproof rum, purple yam-coconut orgeat and pineapple.

And the puns continue: “Christmapolitan,” “Muletide,” “You’ll Shoot Your Rye Out,” as well as less punny wordplay “How the Gimlet Stole Christmas”; “Run Run Rudolph,” a tequila/coffee liqueur/iced hot chocolate drink with Mexican spices that is reminiscent of Mexican hot chocolate, but iced and alcoholic), and the more straightforward “Snowball Old Fashioned,” “Jingle Bell Nog,” and “Bad Santa” (mulled red wine, tawny port, orange liqueur, spices and golden raisins, served hot — and when we were there, in a Santa mug).

All cocktails are $12. A “Nice Shot” (rum, peppermint, chocolate) and a “Naughty Shot” (bourbon, cinnamon) are $5 apiece. Mugs that drinks are served in are available for sale; 10 percent of merchandise sales will be donated to Action Against Hunger.

“Miracle” is taking place in more than 50 cities in the United States and other countries; Proper is the only North Texas bar (and only one of two in Texas) participating. The concept began in New York City, where one of the pop-ups is at its original location, Mace in the East Village.

According to a release, Miracle originated in 2014 when owner Greg Boehm’s mother advised him to stop construction of Mace and change the unfinished space into a holiday-themed pop-up bar. Word got out, and people in the bar industry across the country asked how they be part of the festivities. In 2015, Miracle expanded to four locations, but in 2016, it went worldwide, with pop-ups in Greece, Montreal and Paris (the 2017 edition adds Quebec, Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro to the international roster).

Proper will be closed on Christmas itself, but otherwise will be doing Miracle in Cowtown from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, noon to midnight Christmas Eve, and noon to 2 a.m. New Year’s Eve. Proper is at 409 W. Magnolia Ave. For updates, visit @propermagnoliafw or @miracleincowtown on Facebook.

This story was originally published December 22, 2017 at 3:39 PM with the headline "‘Miracle’ on Magnolia Avenue: Christmas-themed cocktails will last till the New Year at Proper."