A while back I had the amazing chance to take part in a Beverage Making class through my college for my degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management. Now in this class did we in fact actually make beverages? No, but I did learn a lot of cool information on how alcohol and other beverages are such an important part of not just running a restaurant, but also making a meal more enjoyable. For our final, the jist of it was to basically write something about beverages. Simple right? I enjoyed working on this final so much that I decided I didn't want to just show this too my teacher, I wanted to share it with other people as well.
Me being the nerd I am my first thought for this project was to automatically do something involving Butterbeer, the famous drink that we have all wanted to try from Harry Potter.
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According to J.K. Rowling she said that when she wrote about this beverage in the book she pictured it tasting “A little bit like less-sickly butterscotch”. You can try and get "the real thing" at one of the Universal Studios parks in the U.S.A . I have actually tasted it before at the Universal Studios Parks in Florida and can admit it is quite a delicious but also a sugary overload.
However, since not all of us can afford a trip to Florida or LA, many recipes have instead been made on trying to recreate this fictional drink. All with something different about them. With that, I scoured the internet and decided to try and make three versions of this drink all with different recipes: Cold, Hot, and Boozy.
Four opinion’s is better than one, so for this experience I hired along three other people to taste these recipes with me and get their honest opinions. Instead of giving out their names I will actually instead identify them by their Hogwarts House: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.
Cold Butterbeer (this is the closest one that tastes like the one in the parks)
Overall Thoughts:
- The butterscotch froth was the best part
- The drink was sweet, but overly sweet
- Spoons needed to be used to swirl the ingredients and get the best flavor combination you could get.
Specific Thoughts:
Gryffindor: “No Aroma”
Hufflepuff: “Great cream soda but no butterscotch taste”
Ravenclaw: “Kind of like a root beer float”
Slytherin: “Could be a little bit colder”
Hot Butterbeer
Overall Thoughts:
- Strange maple oatmeal-like aroma
- Stronger butterscotch flavor
- Not at all “hot” with the inclusion of the soda
- Better than the first one
Specific Thoughts:
Gryffindor: “If there was no carbonation from the soda it would be perfect”
Hufflepuff: “Perfect for drinking in small quantities”
Ravenclaw: “Has a smoother flavor than the first”
Slytherin: “Very creamy with the froth blended”
Boozy Butterbeer (Must only be consumed by witches and wizards 21 years or older)
Overall Thoughts:
- The best one out of the three.
- Very creamy and butterscotchy.
- No hint of actual alcohol in there and a very light aroma.
Specific Thoughts:
Gryffindor: “Leaves a sweet mouthfeel aftertaste”
Hufflepuff: “Very dangerous!”
Ravenclaw: “Still too sweet for me”
Slytherin: “Tastes like a butterscotch creamsicle”
Overall Thoughts
- Clearly the boozy butterbeer was everyone’s favorite.
- After comparing these three recipes to the actual one in Universal Studios though, I can say that the two are like comparing apples to oranges.
- Still I think every Harry Potter fan should try an experiment like this to taste that sweet and butterscotchy drink that you just know you have always wanted to try.
