Harry Potter fans are all abuzz about butterbeer, and they’ve got the foamy mustaches to prove it.
The cold and creamy, frothy drink is the most popular food item at the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando, according to Universal spokesman Tom Schroder, with visitors lining up to try it.
“Then they would walk around and have this mustache on,” said Sabrina Sampson, 11, of Richmond, Va., who described the drink as tasting “like cream soda. It was somewhat thick, and it was really sweet, and then it got salty as you swallowed it, like butterscotch.”
Schroder said that about half the visitors to The Wizarding World sample butterbeer.
“It’s interesting that one small thing they can sell for a few dollars is getting as much attention as the rides,” said Gabe Travers, who reviewed the park for WESH.com, the NBC affiliate in the Orlando area.
Immediately after The Wizarding World’s June 18 opening, butterbeer was one of the most-searched-for terms on the Internet. A butterbeer recipe on MuggleNet.com got 3,445 hits when the park opened, up from an average 350 daily views before the opening.
Universal would not release its butterbeer recipe, but press materials describe the drink as “reminiscent of shortbread and butterscotch.”
The version sold at The Wizarding World was tasted and approved by Rowling herself.
“Everyone knows butterbeer was approved by J.K. Rowling, so people want to taste it and see if their tastebuds match up,” said Travers.
Butterbeer is sold in two varieties, regular and frozen, but many people buy both. The consensus among online fans appears to be that the frozen version is more delicious.
The drink is drawn from a tap, like a beer, and the dense, whipped topping is added from a separate tap. It’s served in cups, about $3 ($4 for frozen) for a disposable cup and about $10 ($11 for frozen) for a hard plastic souvenir stein.
Butterbeer
Start to finish: 1 hour (10 minutes active); Servings: 4.
No need to travel to Hogsmeade (or to Universal Orlando) to get a taste of Harry Potter’s butterbeer. Universal isn’t giving out its recipe, but we’ve created an easy version of the formerly fictional drink made famous by the young wizard.
1 cup light or dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
3/4 cup heavy cream, divided
1/2 teaspoon rum extract
Four 12-ounce bottles cream soda
In a small saucepan over medium, combine the brown sugar and water. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring often, until the mixture reads 240 F on a candy thermometer.
Stir in the butter, salt, vinegar and 1/4 cup heavy cream. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the rum extract.
In a medium bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Use an electric mixer to beat until just thickened, but not completely whipped, about 2 to 3 minutes.
To serve, divide the brown sugar mixture between 4 tall glasses (about 1/4 cup for each glass). Add 1/4 cup of cream soda to each glass, then stir to combine. Fill each glass nearly to the top with additional cream soda, then spoon the whipped topping over each.
