A lot of the hype round New Mexico’s beverage scene has centered on Albuquerque, the place bars like Blissful Accidents, Bow & Arrow Brewing Co., and Campo at Los Poblanos have earned James Beard nods in recent times. 

Close by Santa Fe, with a inhabitants that’s a fraction of Albuquerque’s measurement, is not any slouch within the meals division, and its bar scene has been steadily catching up. Certainly one of its latest additions is Milk of the Poppy, which opened in March 2025 with backing from one of many metropolis’s most well-known residents: George R.R. Martin.

Situated within the metropolis’s Railyard district, a former industrial zone turned cultural hub, Milk of the Poppy is a part of a cluster of initiatives developed by Highgarden Leisure, which additionally operates the Jean Cocteau Cinema, a single-screen arthouse theater, and Beastly Books, a speculative fiction bookshop. 

Martin can also be an investor in a short-run rail line with a murder-mystery dinner theater, in addition to Meow Wolf, the immersive artwork collective with places throughout the nation. Taken collectively, the initiatives quantity much less to a fandom empire than a long-term wager on walkable, culture-driven infrastructure.

Nonetheless, Highgarden has allowed itself just a few indulgences. 

The fantasy origins of a New Mexico bar

Milk of the Poppy takes its title from an historic opiate combination talked about in Martin’s Recreation of Thrones novels. The bar payments itself as a “medieval apothecary,” although it’s no Medieval Occasions. There are not any heraldic banners, pole weapons, or dragon sculptures. Outdoors, a heavy steel door and stylized poppy signal mark the doorway. Inside, the medieval theme is expressed much less by decor than the spirits themselves.

“Conceptually, what we wished to do is to carry Previous World spirits into New Mexico, as a lot as we will discover,” says head bartender Andy Pollack. “We’re requesting merchandise that no person else has inquired about. It ties into getting individuals to acknowledge New Mexico as not only a place the place you may get a Margarita.”

The menu as an alternative leans towards historic and regional spirits not often seen in Santa Fe. One drink riffs on a bitter utilizing arak, a Center Japanese anise spirit with eighth-century origins. Aquavit, a Scandinavian spirit from the 1500s, groups up with manzanilla sherry and Salers, a French aperitif. 

Darkish Winds, a cocktail named after a Martin-produced psychological thriller set in Navajo County, pairs Turkish urfa sizzling honey with beets and lemon. Elsewhere, absinthe, Calvados (French apple brandy), and Alpeggio (hay liqueur) pop up in surprising combos. For a lot of of those spirits, it’s probably their first look on a Santa Fe drinks menu.

“I contemplate myself and [Pollack] to be part of a brand new guard, as New Mexico continues to obtain extra consideration,” says beverage director Sokhang Pan. “We’ll decide to importing a pallet of one thing, after which another person in our cohort will say, ‘That’s accessible now in our state?’ and decide it up as effectively.”

Drink traditions misplaced to time

One drink that attracts explicit affection is the Harvey Wallbanger, which Pan says was included at Martin’s suggestion. Initially a disco-era Screwdriver topped with Galliano, the bar’s model substitutes Xtabentún, a Yucatán honey-anise liqueur.

“[Martin] remembers seeing it in every single place within the ’70s,” says Pan. “How a lot he likes it, I’m unsure. However his factor was, ‘Why are there issues which can be misplaced to time?’” 

One factor misplaced to time is when early patrons of the bar would arrive in cosplay. That has light, and Pollack says he’s relieved.

“I’m very appreciative of their effort, however on the identical time, it’s reductive,” he says. “If that’s what this place was, it could turn out to be a gimmick or a present.”

A love letter to Santa Fe

When the bar first opened, Martin would sometimes slip in for a drink behind the chainmail curtain of the VIP part. Basic supervisor Guillermo Tilley, who has overseen operations throughout Highgarden’s venues, says visits from Martin turned rarer because the calls for of his schedule elevated. He’s at present touring to advertise The Knight of Seven Kingdoms launch.

Right now, the bar’s character is outlined much less by celeb visits than by its locals and regulars. On a current evening, Abram Klaassen and Sarah Lawrence, each of their early 20s, describe the Railyard because the a part of Santa Fe that feels most alive to individuals their age. Downtown, they are saying, skews older and extra conventional, whereas the Railyard feels modern. They didn’t come to Milk of the Poppy due to Martin, however as a result of the drinks felt bold with out being treasured.

For all its associations, Milk of the Poppy just isn’t a shrine to Recreation of Thrones. It’s a functioning bar inside a bigger ecosystem, one which displays Martin’s longstanding dedication to Santa Fe not by branding or spectacle, however infrastructure.