Recipe for Butterbeer

Our first attempt at Butterbeer.

"Butterbeer is the drink of choice for younger wizards. Harry is first presented with the beverage in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Although House-elves can become intoxicated on Butterbeer, the amount of alcohol contained in Butterbeer has a negligible effect on Witches and Wizards. J.K. Rowling said in her interview to Bon Appétit magazine that she imagines it "to taste a little bit like less-sickly butterscotch." Butterbeer can be served cold or hot but either way it has a warming effect." - Wikipedia

There has lately been a big buzz for the recipe of Butterbeer, which is available to purchase from 'The Wizarding World of Harry Potter' theme park at Universal Orlando. Although we'd never tried the drink before, Anj, Rhed, Maddy and I set out to try and create a recipe of what we imagined Butterbeer would taste like. We think this recipe is a cracker, so I wanted to share it with the interwebz. It was very easy to make and it tasted perfect. We chose to make it warm and slightly alcoholic, but it can be made cold sans the alcohol.

What You Will Need:

• Microwave
• Blender
• Spoons
• Glasses

Ingredients:

• 1 Litre of vanilla ice-cream
• 1 Litre of Cream Soda 
• Bottle of Toffee Syrup
• Bottle of Butterscotch Schnapps 

 
 Method:

1. Add ice-cream to a blender, and pour cream soda on top. Blend together until the ice-cream is well mixed into the soda and the mixture is consistent.
2. Add the desired amount of toffee syrup into the blender with the mixture, and blend until it's mixed it. 
3. Pour a small (or a lot, it's your choice) amount of the butterscotch schnapps into the glasses, and then add the mixture, making sure to leave a little space between the mixture and the top of the glass (as the foam will rise eventually).
4. Microwave for one minute in the microwave on high heat. The foam will separate to the top and the drink will now be warm and ready to drink.

That's all there is to it. Although I highly recommend it, if you don't want it to be alcoholic you can leave out the schnapps and compensate with more toffee syrup, and probably some brown sugar. The beverage can also be served cold without the microwaving. Also, to make it more aesthetically pleasing, it could be worthwhile to add a few drops of orange food dye, which I'll be sure to try the second time I make it.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as we did. It'd be good fun to drink Butterbeer, or the remaining schnapps, while playing The Harry Potter Drinking Game!

Looking pleased with our work!

The Harry Potter Drinking Game

Created by Rhed and Sam.

This game is recommended to be played with beer and other light drinks, because you will be drinking a lot during this game. For maximum entertainment, this game is best enjoyed with shots of your favourite spirits and liqueurs, although if you elect to use them rather than beer you'll be off your face within the first hour of the movie. You have been warned, and remember to drink responsibly, or at least with your friends.

Beverage of our choice: Butterbeer

If you are playing with BEER/LIGHT DRINKS - take one sip per step below unless otherwise stated.

If playing with SHOTS - divide the steps between the people playing the game, so that 1) you don't get drunk too quickly 2) you don't run out of booze so soon. * indicates that everyone must drink.

TAKE A DRINK:

1. Everytime someone utters the name 'Harry Potter'.
2. When Ron speaks his trademark catchphrase of the movies. Eg: 'Wicked', 'bloody hell', and 'brilliant'.
3. Anytime Hermione becomes angry, distressed, or irrationally concerned about something.
4. *Anytime a character says 'Voldemort'.
5. When any character casts 'Expelliarmus' at another character.
6. Anytime an owl delivers post to Harry, Ron, or Hermione while at Hogwarts.
7. When Snape makes an appearance out of nowhere, bringing 'bad' vibes.
8. Anytime points are awarded/deducted to any house.
9. Everytime an elder issues a stern warning or grave message.
10. Hermione puts her hand up in class. Take an extra drink if she answers a question without being asked to.
11. *When Dumbledore delivers enigmatic words of wisdom which may, or may not, impact on the plot.
12. Someone insults another character with the comment 'Mudblood'.
13. When the Weasley Twins finish each other's sentences. Take an extra drink if they finish speaking by speaking in unison.
14. Anytime that Hagrid breaks down in tears.
15. *Everytime Gryffindor score during a Quiddich match.

FINISH YOUR DRINK/TAKE THREE SHOTS:
Everytime Harry reminds someone that his parents are dead. Eg: 'Voldemort killed my parents...', 'My parents are dead...', 'He killed my parents...' etc.

There it is, in all its glory. Enjoy!  

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Soundtrack Review

The final Harry Potter soundtrack isn't anywhere near as good as the John William's material.

The 'Harry Potter' films will be heralded as canonical works of our generation, and since the franchise is adored by millions, it should be fitting that the finale of this series be given a phenomenal score. While I had high expectations, I think they were reasonable considering this was such a landmark movie event. Unfortunately Alexandre Desplat's score doesn't fit what I was expecting for the finale of the series, but even though the score is underwhelming compared to the original works of John Williams, having a huge number of generic battle moments and background noises, 'Harry Potter & Deathly Hallows Part 2' has some truly magical moments that compliment the film.

Some bits of this soundtrack are exquisite and compliment the movie impeccably. The score opens with the enigmatic and melancholic 'Lily's Theme', a gem on this album which highlights Desplat's esoteric approach to composing, in this case heard in the fusion of luscious strings with atmospheric drones to culminate in a beautifully bitter-sweet introduction - and a heartbreaking moment during its appearance in 'Snape's Demise'. 'Battlefield' immediately conjures up a vivid memory of the battle of Howgarts, and is one of the few engaging moments in the action where the music is powerful and imposing, managing to carry a discernible melody without drenching itself in so many generic techniques found through the album. 'Severus and Lily', the longest piece on the album, is a good representation of both Desplat and the series, led by a eerie clarinet over the top of the orchestra while beautifully utilising a solo piano and tubular bells, and it's followed by 'Harry's Sacrifice' which is short and sweet, moving and tragic. The best piece on the album is 'The Resurrection Stone', which is angelic and very mise-en-scène - the traits which made William's work so magical finally appear in Desplat's work, and the music is truly evocative and entrancing. I would say I liked the ending ('A New Beginning') but to be honest it's too brief and lacks the catharsis that you're looking for after hearing forty something minutes of battle scores.

Beyond those movements, the rest of the album is very generic. This is hardly Desplat's fault - the final episode in this saga is crammed full of action and high tension, and this is unfortunately reflected heavily in the music. Pieces such as 'Dragon Fight', 'Showdown', 'Underworld', 'Panic Inside Hogwarts' don't share a distinct motif, so while you'd never associate them with a Harry Potter score, it's also difficult to follow and truly enjoy any parts of the score with the exception of the interjections of William's original material. For the rest of the pieces, the album is very atmospheric. Songs like 'Gringots' and 'In the Chamber' don't really have much going for them or much going on. They're pleasant, full of incidental music with sporadic interjections of strings and pitched percussion, while other pieces just roll along without really doing anything except provide background noise ('The Grey Lady', 'The Diadem').

In the end, the best parts of the soundtrack are the brief reprises of the scores from the first two films by Williams, and Desplat's original themes are fairly forgettable and only few pieces are really engaging. The score is fitting and works well for what is happening on camera, but lacks the edge and memorability which made the previous (read: first three) scores so magical. This music is good and highly effective in the movie, but doesn't really stand that well on its own. I would never walk down the street listening to the majority of this album on my iPod, nor would I really care to recommend it to anyone beyond Harry Potter fans to purchase it. Besides that handful of pieces, I'd recommend you stick to the first three scores written by John Williams.

Originally posted on Amazon.