There is always some kind of new pop-up event, store, or restaurant opening up in NYC. The one that caught our eyes was The Cauldron Magical Cocktail Experience. It was perfect for Harry Potter fans who are adults, and loves cocktails. It was located on the second floor of Bavaria Bierhaus. As we went upstairs, we entered into a magical and enchanted atmosphere.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by one of their potion masters who gave us a magic wand and a robe. I gotta say, it was pretty cool…! Everyone was dressed in a black robe with purple inside lining.

The space was narrow and long. They had many robes hanging on one side, with tables to the other side. They tables were small, and had small tables that works as cocktail making interactive “work stations.”

The interior had those “once upon a time” feel to it, with antique-style chandelier, old-fashion ceiling design and red brick wall. I just loved the way it looked in this space!

 

Each “station” had stone-looking gargoyles watching over the aspiring witches and wizards, as they create their magical cocktails.  With the magic wand and mysterious robe, I was all set to start my magic mixology class! 

The stations were made for total of four people, a couple on one side, and another couple on the other. Most of the wizard students came in a pair, so this worked really great. our station didn’t have anyone else for a while, so we got to enjoy most of the experience in our own little magical world.

This enchanting experience was for a little less than two hours long, and we receive total of three cocktails, only if you can wield your magical powers. With each drink, we were given specific ingredients and instruction. The first one was Homemade Poetic Mead, or Nectar of the Gods. This one was already made, but we had to figure out how to get the drink.

The instruction for Poetic Mead came with a riddle. It says that the “stone guardian” will dispense mead when we tap the runes with the answer of the secret riddle with the magic wand.

Now, seemed like many people around us (including my love) had a hard time figuring out the answer to the riddle. But, I solved it in a matter of seconds. I made Hermione proud! I won’t give out the answer here in case you are planning to attend this magic mixology class. After solving the secret riddle, the stone guardian dispensed mead from his mouth. 

The poetic Mead is made from fermented honey, fruit, and other botanicals. It is believed to be the world’s oldest alcoholic libation. It was very sweet, you could really taste the honey. It was nice and strong, a great way to begin the class! We were allowed to get as much mead as we liked, with the magic wand. And yes, we did emptied it out!

Second drink was something that we had to create on our own. With all the ingredients and step-by-step instruction, it seemed easy enough. It was mostly self-guided, but if you have any question, you could always get help from your Potion’s Master. We used molecular mixology to brew magical elixirs. This one was called Transfiguration Toniq. We had a large mixing bowl with ice cubes. The first step was to add Essence of Lavender into the mixing bowl.

Then, add Butterfly Wing Serum into the mixing bowl. This magical ingredient, I was familiar with already. We used this ingredient when we attended super fun and a bit strange Mad Hatter’s G& T Party (you can read about it here:   http://www.foodlovergirl.com/mad-hatters-gt-party/ ). We had to stir seven times clockwise with the stirrer accordingly to the magical instruction.

Next, add gin and stir six time clockwise, adding one anticlockwise stir for every third clockwise stir. Yup, getting a bit complicated here… We followed all the steps to a T in order ensure the magic potion was going to be just right.

At this point, we had to get our Potion’s Master to take the mixture away for “enchanting.” All the potion’s masters were wearing the black robe with golden yellow inside lining, so we can see who is student and who is potion’s master. He came back with our magical elixirs in classy glasses with lavender.

There was one more step we had to do before the magical cocktail was complete. We had to add Manticore Venom into the enchanted toniq. As the name suggests, the color started to transform from beautiful blue to gorgeous violet.

This one had nice lavender aroma and flavor without it being too herb-y. It was a nice and relaxing drink, pretty to look at and even better going down. It was fun watching the color change with such dangerous ingredient as Manticore venom… Manticore is mythical beast typically depicted as having the body of a lion, the face of a man, and the sting of a scorpion. How cool! Not to worry, with our strong magical powers, the venom didn’t hurt us!

The third and last drink was even more interesting and exciting! It was called Lost Time. This elixir required, yes, cauldron! It was stated on the instruction that this is now the intermediary level. Yes, we went up with excellent performance as students so it seems! First, our Potion’s Master poured some enchanted liquid into the cauldron.

Then, we had to open the wooden box that the stone guardian was sitting on with our magic wand in order to get the rest of ingredients. It was fun to get the magical green door open with the wand, we actually did it a few times just to play.

In the inside, we found glasses, jam jars, and strainer. Now all the ingredients are gathered, and ready for the molecular mixology to begin!

The first step in this potion creation was to use the pestle and mortar to grind botanicals and herbs. We did our best, and then pour it all into the cauldron. We had to stir it with ladle for eight seconds. Detail is important when making magic potion.

Then, add bottle of Bladderwort Nectar to the cauldron. And of course, stir three times clockwise. Bladderworts are carnivorous plant, beautiful and seductive, luring small insects into their traps. My goodness, they have interesting and mysterious ingredients!

At this point, it was time to call our Potion’s Master again and obtain Fairy Dust from him. The “dark” material has a frost enchantment and is extremely cold at -72 degrees C (or -96.7 degrees F). It was white like powder snow. We carefully sprinkled the entire bottle of fairy dust into the cauldron.

We had to stir the potion until all the fairy dust has disappeared. This was the most fun part of the class! As soon as we started to stir the cauldron, the potions started to bubble and smoke! Now we are talking!

The more we stirred, the more smoke it make. It was especially fun to see small smoke rings. It was magical to see them keep popping up out the cauldron.

Next was to add three drops of Dragon’s Teas to each Jam Jar. I wonder how they obtained tears of dragons… must have been some seriously dangerous task by a wizard!

Next, we poured one full ladle of the “unction” from the cauldron into the jar. It was time to get attention of our Potion’s Master again to obtain some ice. But then, our Potion’s Master appeared out of nowhere like magic! He actually scared me and made me jump! LOL…

We put some ice cubes into the jar, and time to “enthusiastically” shake the jar for 15 minutes. So we did, enthusiastically as we were told. Finally, we got to pour our enchanted concoction into our “goblet” through the strainer.

Not our magical cocktail potion was ready for consumption. It was tasty and had lemon-y flavor without being too overwhelming. It was flavorful from the botanicals and herbs, which contained cardamom, cinnamon, assam cha, ginger and thyme. It was not herb-y but could taste the hint of spices mixed with lemon-y jam mix. It was a nice, refreshing ending to the magical mixology class.

After finishing with the magic class, we had a choice to leave or stay and get more drinks for additional price. We saw another table of a large group getting some kind of fiery drink that required a torch and a special ceremony. It was called Dragon’s Breath, very fitting.

For us, we decided to go with a beer before departing the enchanted world. We chose Hell Broth ($8), which was said to be inspired by ingredients found in magical history. It was served from Fountain of Youth, which supposed to allow you to pour your own drink with a magic wand. The beer was very hoppy, light and flavorful.

You could also purchase the magic wand with the box which were handcrafted in Dublin, Ireland if you wanted to continue your magic training at home. In addition, you could also purchase faerie door and broomstick too, both made in the UK.

The bathroom had a nice wooden door with metal fixtured that matches the old era atmosphere. Nice and clean.

This was such a fun event! We enjoyed this interactive magical experience! Our Potion’s Master was really funny, which made the experience even better. All the three enchanted drinks were tasty, and it was really interesting to make the magical elixirs. Requiring robe, magic wand, spell and riddle made this magical world come alive. We went in as aspiring students, and came out a wizard and a witch, slightly tipsy. We loved this event so much, I hope it will stay for a long time so that more people can enjoy this enchanted experience!

 

The Cauldron NYC – 47 Stone Street, New York, NY 10004