The Common Soda You Need To Make A Magical Butterbeer Copycat

Fans of "Harry Potter" can easily imagine the creamy butterscotch smells coming from a freshly poured mug of butterbeer. They know exactly what to expect when they order a cup from the cart at Universal Studios or attend a party where the host has made butterbeer from scratch. While variations may skip the whipped cream and caramel garnish or add alcohol, the iconic drink of the Wizarding World always contains cream soda.

Butterbeer was first described in books written by J.K. Rowling and quickly became a symbol of the "Harry Potter" world. Butterbeer stepped off the page in 2010 when Universal Studios opened the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade. It so completely satisfied the imaginations of "Harry Potter" fans that, according to Orlando Informer, butterbeer sales recouped Universal Studio's $260 million investment into the park in six months.

The man who brought butterbeer to life at Universal Studios was corporate Chef Steven Jayson, who relied on Rowling's description of the drink to get started. In the books, Rowling describes butterbeer as reminiscent, but less sweet than butterscotch. So, Jayson started working his magic with cream soda. He created cold and frozen versions of the drink and topped each with a heavy helping of whipped cream. Luckily you don't have to wait for your next trip to Universal Studios Wizarding World of Harry Potter-Hogsmeade to put your hands on some butterbeer. Recreate this fizzy, sweet, butterscotch-flavored drink in your own home with just a few easy-to-find ingredients.

Making butterbeer at home can be as easy as pouring cream soda into a mug and topping it with whipped cream, but there are several variations that could spice up the drink. Butterbeer can be served hot, cold, or frozen and is usually garnished with whipped cream and caramel sauce. At-home versions can be topped with whatever you want and can include ingredients like powdered sugar, marshmallow cream, and various extracts like rum and butter.

Hot butterbeer is usually made by adding cream soda to a heated combination of milk, butterscotch sauce, and brown sugar. Frozen butterbeer is just as easy to make but it takes longer because the process involves cream soda ice cubes which are made by pouring cream soda into trays and freezing for a few hours. Some recipes for butterbeer provide a different take on the drink by using apple cider as a base and combining it over heat with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Alongside rum and butter extracts, many butterbeer recipes use heavy cream, caramel syrup, and butterscotch syrup which help with a velvety texture and sweet, butterscotch flavors.

Butterbeer as described in the "Harry Potter" canon is slightly alcoholic, but you won't find boozy butterbeer in places like Universal Studio's Hogsmeade. That's because the drink was developed as an added value product for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and was designed to appeal to people of all ages. Universal Studios is so dedicated to alcohol-free butterbeer that bartenders at the park are specifically instructed against adding shots to patrons' butterbeer drinks.

Spiked butterbeer might not be available at Universal Studios but it's easy to make at home with ingredients like butterscotch schnapps liqueur and vanilla vodka or any vodka you'd find in the liquor store. Use warm, caramel adjacent flavors to keep the recipe true to the original butterbeer flavor. You could even use alcoholic whipped cream with your caramel sauce topping as a tipsy garnish. Pair it with snacks like dark chocolate-covered salted caramels or lemon shortbread cookies to really compliment butterbeer's "Harry Potter" vibes.

In the "Harry Potter" stories, house elves and even a Hogwarts professor fell under butterbeer's influence, but nowhere in the canon does Rowling describe what kind of alcohol or how much is in the drink. This allows for creativity when you're making a butterbeer with a buzz and you can add whatever alcohol brings to mind visions of the Three Broomsticks or The Leaky Cauldron.