Amortentia Potion Cocktail (Harry Potter Recipe)

The scariest potion in Harry Potter has to be the love potion. This color-changing Amortentia Potion cocktail recipe is a fun one to bring out for wizard-themed parties, Halloween and Valentine’s Day.

As any lifelong Harry Potter fan can tell you, there are many scary things in the books and movies.

From giant spiders to intense spells, there’s a lot that would get anyone’s fear drive going.

But to me, the scariest are the potions.

They are powerful. There’s one that can transform people into other people. There’s another that can force you to tell the truth. There are more that can make you confused or put you into a deep sleep.

And then there’s Amortentia, the one that forces the drinker to be obsessed with the person who administers it.

It’s said to be the most powerful love potion in the world. Technically, it’s banned at Hogwarts but that didn’t stop some pesky teenagers from brewing it!

Amortentia potion cocktail recipe

I thought it would be fun to turn the Amortentia potion into a cocktail recipe. The one I came up with changes colors, and it has a real potion class kind of vibe, to me!

It would be so much fun to serve the Amortentia cocktail at a Halloween party. You could bring it back out on Valentine’s Day, too.

I suppose it doesn’t matter who you try to woo, as long as you hook them up with some butterbeer afterward. Deal?

What is the Amortentia love potion?

The Amortentia potion is one introduced in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by potions professor Horace Slughorn.

It is a strong potion, but Amortentia cannot create actual love. According to the HP books, it is impossible to manufacture or imitate love with magic. Instead, the person under the effect of Amortentia would only hold an obsession for the person who gives it to them.

Known for its mother-of-pearl sheen and spiraling steam, it has a different aroma for each person who smells it, reminding them of the things they find most attractive, even if the person doesn’t realize their fondness for the object of their affection themselves.

For example, Harry could smell treacle tart, the woody scent of a broomstick handle and “something flowery that he thought he might have smelled at the Burrow” (which he later realized was the smell of his future wife Ginny Weasley).

Thankfully, if you do happen to ingest it, there is a love potion antidote! (Ron gets to take some after ingesting some Amortentia by mistake.)

Amortentia potion ingredients

The ingredients for Amortentia that are listed in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince are:

• Ashwinder eggs
• Rose thorns
• Peppermint
• Powdered moonstone
• Pearl dust
• Rose petals

I did my best to match these into ingredients for a cocktail, but I had to get a little creative.

If you dare, you can add some dry ice like I did with these Mad Scientist cocktails. That would add another fun element to this drink! Just be careful with dry ice, always — never touch it with your bare hands.

Amortentia cocktail ingredients

My Amortentia cocktail is essentially a rosy bee’s knees cocktail. It tastes like a sweet, woodsy flower! Just like Harry’s version.

The bee’s knees is a gin drink featuring lemon juice, honey and gin. It’s a magical trio — sweet and tart with a hint of herbaceous gin.

It’s a great intro to gin if you’re not a huge fan. And with the addition of rose, it makes a wonderful love potion-type cocktail.

For my Amortentia cocktail, here’s how I matched the ingredients:

Purple gin (ashwinder eggs)

For the ashwinder eggs, I used the color-changing purple gin from Empress Gin, which is made with butterfly pea powder. When you mix it with citrus, it changes from purple to pink — like magic!

If you do not have this gin, you can infuse butterfly pea flowers with the honey syrup (more on that in a second).

The ashwinder is a magical serpent so I think it’s fine to assume their eggs’ yolks might be purple. Suspension of disbelief is necessary here!

Honey syrup (rose thorns)

Rose thorns are brown, so I think it’s fair to assume the essence of rose thorns might be brown as well. Hence a homemade honey syrup is what we’ll use here.

Lemon juice (peppermint)

Okay, okay, so this cocktail doesn’t actually include any real peppermint. Back to that suspension of disbelief, please!

Peppermint is a very overpowering flavor and scent and I didn’t want it to take away from the rose aroma.

Instead, we’ll use a little bit of lemon juice! Fresh is best, if you have it, but the stuff from concentrate is just fine.

Rosewater (powdered moonstone)

For the essence of powdered moonstone, we’ll use a little bit of rose water.

Rose water adds a flowery aroma that transports you to the nearest rose garden. Not unlike my elderflower rose gimlet which uses rose water as well.

You can find it at specialty shops or at Middle Eastern grocery stores.

Edible cocktail glitter (pearl dust)

This one is the closest to the real Amortentia ingredient! I incorporated edible shimmer dust for cocktails into this drink.

One pinch and your cocktail will have that mother-of-pearl glow just like the real Amortentia.

Hint: You don’t need very much at all! Just a little pinch will do.

Rose petals (well, rose petals!)

I put a dusting of real, dried rose petals on top. Yep, you can eat rose petals!

The ones I used are edible and food-grade. You may be able to find them at a specialty shop, too. And they are so pretty on top of drinks like the rose white hot chocolate.

You can also use fresh rose petals — just make sure they are organic and pesticide-free. These sugared rose petals would also be a beautiful accent.

How to make the Amortentia cocktail

First, you will want to decant the ingredients into cute little potion jars. I used bottles and jars that I have saved and recycled, but you can use whatever you like.

I poured them all into a glass mug — I imagine most potion-takers drink them straight from the bottle or from a mug, not a fancy cocktail glass!

Here are a few that I found that are just so cute! Mix and match for a more apothecary vibe.

Decorative Potion Bottles

Then you’re going to want to add the ingredients one at a time. Make sure you add them in this order or the color change will not happen in the right way.

1. Stir the lemon juice and honey together.
2. Then add the rosewater.
3. Add the purple gin and watch the color change!
4. Then sprinkle in the pearl dust and give it a stir.
5. Top with a few rose petals!

Enjoy and be prepared to fall in love with this rosy bee’s knees cocktail.

More Harry Potter potion cocktails

There are so many fun Harry Potter cocktail recipes you can make! It would be so fun to have a grown-up Harry Potter cocktail party with some of these:

My cinnamon whiskey would make a perfect Firewhisky! A magical combination that will magically warm you right up.

Ever wanted to try unicorn blood and live forever? Hopefully not, but here is a Unicorn Blood cocktail just for kicks.

And if you’re in need of some liquid luck, the Felix Felicis cocktail is what you need!

Let me know what you think of this Amortentia love potion cocktail — did it make you fall in love with color-changing purple gin?