I’ve always been a fan of magic, and I definitely love going out for cocktails, so when I was invited to review The Cauldron; a Harry Potter inspired magical cocktail bar, I jumped at the chance. I invited my friend Sammy along for the evening (this was before she told me she’d never actually seen Harry Potter) and together we headed to Dalston, London after work for our 2-hour potion class.
What is the Cauldron?
Created by ABQ and The Bletchley’s molecular mixologist and cocktail designer David Duckworth, The Cauldron follows suit of the ever-growing list of London’s immersive experiences; combining science, technology, and magic. The Cauldron opened as a pop-up bar after a successful Kickstarter campaign and has plans to become a permanent fixture in London.
During your 2 hour slot, you will get to create a variety of cocktails, including those that change colour and bubble uncontrollably, as well as access to a magical greenhouse that uses some of the best growing tech in the world to propagate the botanicals used in the potions.
Arriving after work on a Friday, we made our way down the staircase, where we were greeted by our fellow wizards, and were provided with our own personal cloak and wand for the evening. Although there is technically no affiliation with Harry Potter, you definitely feel like you’ve just been placed into a Hogwarts House when provided with your equipment, before being taken over to our station for the night with our first set of instructions, sourced from an ancient magic textbook.
The potions class is separated into three parts, with three separate cocktails.
Class 1 involves adding ingredients into a glass, with the last drops changing the colour from blue to purple. This transformation was pretty cool to observe and was a great introduction for the night ahead.
For our second instalment, we were called over to the ‘tree of life’ where we used our wands to select our preferred beverage. Running through branches of the tree are four different drinks to choose from including the popular Four Cauldrons beer which is a limited edition beer having been specially brewed for The Cauldron by London’s Fourpure Brewing Co. I opted for the Raspberry and Vodka offering which ended up being my favourite drink of the evening.
The final segment truly made you feel like you were in a potions lesson. They definitely saved the best till last! We were provided with a huge array of lab equipment that I haven’t seen since my GCSE Chemistry class, as well as a giant cauldron to stir in all the ingredients. From grinding down herbs and spices with a mortar and pestle (I perfected this in my university soils class) to adding dry ice for a mystical effect, this was definitely the most enjoyable part of the evening.
Although the ’potions’ class finishes here, you have the option to purchase more magical drinks if you so desire. I would definitely recommend going for ‘Dragon’s Breath’. Not only is this drink set on fire, but ‘fairy dust’ is sprinkled onto the rim, creating enormous flames as seen in the photos below!
Overall, this is a great experience to head out for a few cocktails with an added magical twist.. For any American readers, The Cauldron will soon be travelling across the pond to New York City in September, before it returns to London permanently.
So whether you are a wizard, witch, or muggle, you are welcome at The Cauldron. For more info and to book, check out their website: The Cauldron
Disclaimer
* I received complimentary tickets to review this experience
Wow, so witchy! I might check this out when I come to London in august!