If you're a Potterhead in the tri-state area, you're going to love this news. A Harry Potter-inspired cocktail class is coming to New York City this September as part of an expansion of the London-based, Potter-inspired bar The Cauldron. Tickets are reasonably priced at $44.99 per person for "an hour and 45-minute experience, which includes tastes of mead, two 'molecular cocktails,' and the experience of a lifetime," so make a stop by Gringott's and get ready for a night of fun.
Participants in "The Cauldron Magical Cocktail Experience" will wear robes and wield wands as they learn to "use molecular mixology to brew drinkable elixirs." Alcohol-free options are available for sober witches and wizards, so if you're a Potterhead who sticks to pumpkin juice, there's still something for you at The Cauldron. Unfortunately, no one younger than 21 will be allowed to attend, so young witches and wizards will have to wait and see if The Cauldron returns to the U.S. at a later date.
The Cauldron isn't the only Harry Potter-inspired hotspot to pop up over the last few years. In 2015, a Potter-themed bar called The Lockhart opened in Ontario, and another limited-time-only Harry Potter pop-up bar opened at the Hudson Hotel's Library Bar this summer. In early 2017, a Potter-themed pasta restaurant called Pasta Wiz hit Brooklyn.
Of course, if you aren't in New York City this fall, you can still throw your own Harry Potter cocktail course at home. Harry Potter parties can take place on Halloween with the rest of the witchy fun, or you can take your robes and wand with you to the beach for one last summer ball. There are plenty of Harry Potter cocktail recipes out there that are total crowdpleasers, so find your perfect butterbeer recipe and drum up some Hogwarts house-inspired shots to make your guests feel right at home in your Great Hall.
But if you are in New York City, make sure to check out the Harry Potter: A History Of Magic exhibit at the New-York Historical Society Museum and Library. The exhibit, which is timed to the 20th anniversary of the U.S.-release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, opens on Oct. 5 and features rare books, manuscripts, and materials from J.K. Rowling's archives, as well as objects from the collections of the British Library, the New-York Historical Society, and Harry Potter's publisher Scholastic. It's definitely a must-visit event for Potterheads in Manhattan.
Even if you can't make the exhibit, the "The Cauldron Magical Cocktail Experience" definitely sounds like a winning date night for Harry Potter fans. The experience will set up shop on the second floor of the Financial District's Bavaria Bierhaus in September, and will remain open for four months. Space is limited, however, and walk-ins are discouraged, so you'll want to make your reservations as far in advance as possible. Group reservations are available for those of you who, like me, heard this and thought, Girls night! Get out there and have a blast, Potterheads, because, unlike Harry and Tom Riddle, you're only going to live once.
