4 Hanukkah Cocktails to Make This Year

“We ran out of lemon juice at 7 p.m. on opening night,” remembers Naomi Levy, of the evening she launched her Hanukkah themed pop-up Maccabee Bar in Somerville, Massachusetts, in December 2018. The venture was a total hit — hence the citrus emergency. “I had a dozen tickets piling up as I waited for the barback to juice lemons,” she says. Maybe it was the holiday spirit, the effect of the hypnotic blue and white decorations, or perhaps even Levy’s considerable charm, but her customers had no qualms about waiting 20 minutes for their first drink. “The magic wasn’t that we were so slammed,” Levy says, “it was seeing how happy people were just to be there.”

Levy thinks Hanukkah should be more fun and maybe a little boozier, too. Though she loved working every Christmas shift at Boston’s iconic Eastern Standard (where Levy moved up the ranks from bartender to bar manager during her tenure), drinking Christmas-themed cocktails in red- and green-covered bars never felt like her celebration. “I love the festive atmosphere of friends and family at holiday-themed bars,” says Levy, who is Jewish, “but I always felt a bit like an interloper who didn’t celebrate Christmas.”

Levy knew she couldn’t be the only one feeling a bit left out. Just after opening Better Sorts Social Club at the Nine Zero hotel in Boston, which is home to the famously over-the-top Christmas-themed pop-up Miracle Bar, Levy wondered, “What if we did the Miracle Bar but 100% Hanukkah?” The result was Maccabee Bar, a totally exuberant celebration of the eight-day Festival of Lights.

Maccabee Bar, which has expanded to Boston and New York, invites everyone — Jewish or not — to share in the celebration of Hanukkah through a cocktail menu that draws inspiration from classic holiday flavors as from both Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jewish cuisine. In multiple bars and cities, Maccabee Bar pops up just in time for the holidays featuring gorgeous themed spaces and menus at each location (find this year's locations at maccabeebar.com). Levy’s blush pink Hebrew Hammer, a cocktail featuring simple syrup made with instant yeast and raspberry-scented Framboise Liqueur draws inspiration from sufganyiot, yeasted doughnuts filled with jelly eaten around the world during Hanukkah. Her Sababa, named for an informal Hebrew word of affection, is creamy and savory thanks to a combination of emulsified tahini and spicy zhoug, a condiment from the Middle East.

Levy’s balanced and expertly crafted cocktails are generously garnished and playfully named, reflecting the spirit of joy which is integral to the celebration of Hanukkah. “Maccabee Bar is all about sharing,” says Levy. Whether you’re enjoying these cocktails at a Maccabee Bar pop-up or at your own home, channel some of Levy’s spirited enthusiasm for the holiday and share with loved ones. Chag Sameach!  

Hanukkah Cocktails