Pelican to Mars celebrates Halloween all month with eerie pop-up

Halloween season is in full swing, and this Mid City bar has just the drinks to get you in the spooky spirit. 

Pelican to Mars, known for its curated decorations, programming and unique food vendors, has partnered with national Halloween cocktail pop-up Black Lagoon. Created by renowned mixologists Erin Hayes and Kelsey Ramage, the pop-up is an immersive experience with a specialty menu of Halloween craft cocktails, mocktails and a pair of matching shooters.  

“We’re so excited to be back for another sinisterly fun year with our Black Lagoon Halloween bar pop-up,” Ramage says. “With new cities, more venues and an entirely new menu of spooky-season cocktails, this year is sure to be the best one yet.”

Pelican to Mars is no stranger to these themed takeovers, as it also hosts a tropical pop-up, Sippin’ Santa. While the bar already goes all out for October every year, this is its first spooky season pop-up. The neighborhood hang’s owner Lance Paddock says he’s been looking to bring in specialty Halloween drinks for a while.

“If we’re going to bring in cocktails to a themed event like this, I want them from somebody who’s tested the recipes and really knows what they’re doing,” Paddock says.  

Each drink comes with a list of directions and suggested ingredients to use. To play on the theme, all of the cocktails and mocktails come in glasses shaped like snake-infested skulls, fish and skeleton sea creatures. All specialty glassware is also available for purchase. All the sips are unique in their name, flavor and appearance, with each being a twist on a traditional drink.  

Featured sips include the Black Tide, a tropical drink featuring espadin mezcal, spiced pomegranate and bitters served in a large fish mug topped with an umbrella; the non-alcoholic Widow Maker, an eerie concoction of Genmaicha tea and passionfruit and ube syrup; and a set of twin shooters aptly named Rigor and Mortis, with blanco tequila and Ford’s gin, respectively.  

To go along with the Black Lagoon drinks, Halloween decor has taken over the space. Find spiderwebs and “blood” coating the walls and floor, skeletal hands reaching out to grab a drink of their own, bodies hanging from the ceiling, and an eerie fog filling the room from a well-hidden smoke machine. 

Various colorful lights add to the vibe and match the music from the official Black Lagoon playlist pumping through the speakers, with tunes from The Cure and Rocky Horror Picture Show.

“The goal is to make it pretty immersive,” Paddock says.  

Paddock says he enjoys the concept of Halloween because of how the holiday has evolved from the solemn days of the dead in the past and has become more of a celebration of the season.

While Pelican to Mars is a bar, Paddock sees it as a place to simply hang out, whether you’re grabbing a drink with friends for Monday Night Football or are looking to kick back Black Lagoon mocktails at Silent Book Club.  

“We’re a very regular-driven bar,” Paddock says. “We’ve all made so many good friends here.”  

The Black Lagoon menu will be available through Halloween weekend. Keep up to date with the bar’s upcoming events and trivia nights here.