Menu Monday: The Specialty Drinks at Hog’s Head Pub at Universal Orlando

Amid the bustling streets of Hogsmeade Village at the original Wizarding World of Harry Potter, is a dark, dank pub tucked alongside the Three Broomstick restaurant. Here weary Muggles queue up to order a cup of Butterbeer, Pumpkin Juice, or non-alcoholic cider. However, Hog’s Head Pub is also home to a variety of specialty adult beverages making it one of my favorite places to visit whenever I am at Islands of Adventure. The menu of specialty beverages is not published, you simply need to ask your bartender or you can read this handy dandy list. Prepared to get your mouth watering…

What makes Hog’s Head Pub so special (besides the incredible theming, detail, and good service) is that although there is a full bar available, a great beer selection, and wines by the glass, there are no Muggle sodas which means for all the specialty drinks or any cocktails, the mixers are juices, tea, beer, cider, or sour mix. Personally, I am not too keen on using soda as a mixer in a cocktail and I find that the mixers used at Hog’s Head Pub make their drinks more flavorful and smooth. Prices range from about $8 for a beer or a shot to $10.50 or so for mixed drinks.

Hog’s Head Pub is home to the very first specialty beer for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter: the Hog’s Head Brew. This red ale is quite smooth and reminiscent of Killian’s Irish Red Ale. It is brewed by the Florida Beer Company, which also brews Universal Orlando’s other specialty beers including all three Duff beers and the Dragon Scale and Wizard’s Brew at Diagon Alley. Like any good pub, Hog’s Head offers traditional pub beer combinations of two or more beers as well as a few special wizarding combinations.

Black Hog: one of my favorite combinations, Hog’s Head Brew on bottom and Guinness on top. Simple, smooth, and the best of two of my favorite beers.

Hog’s Bite: Strongbow Cider is topped with Hog’s Head Brew, a refreshing way to enjoy Hogsmeade’s signature beer.

Deathly Hallows  The Triple: While this beer combination has been offered for quire some time, it somehow fell off the radar for a little while and has recently seen a surge in popularity. It certainly is one of the coolest looking drinks there is. Pale, golden Strongbow Cider is topped with amber hued Hog’s Head Brew which is then topped with dark, foreboding Guinness. This trio looks cool and sounds cool when ordered.

BREAKING NEWS: Word on the street is this triumphant trio can no longer be called Deathly Hallows and has henceforth been renamed to “The Triple”! And now back to your regularly scheduled Menu Monday blog post.

You can also enjoy traditional beer combinations like Strongbow topped with Guinness (known as Black Velvet), Boddington’s topped with Guinness (some call it a Bumble Bee), or a traditional Black and Tan, which is Bass topped with Guinness (anyone else see a reoccuring theme here?).

Usually when I head to Hog’s Head (pun intended) there is a 50/50 chance that I will either order a Black Hog or a Hog’s Tea. Not familiar with the wonderful Hog’s Tea? Well let me shed some light on this bewitching potion… lumos maxima!

Hog’s Tea: One of the strongest, most potent drinks in all of Universal Orlando. The Hog’s Tea is basically a Long Island Iced Tea (a combination of vodka, gin, rum, and tequila mixed with sour mix and soda). What makes the Hog’s Tea better than your average Long Island Iced Tea is that instead of cola, iced tea is used. Traditionally, raspberry tea is used (which is my personal favorite) but you can also choose sweet tea or unsweet tea (which makes the drink pretty tart). The Hog’s Tea is strong enough to last me a full stroll around the entire park.

The tea used to be served in a 16 oz. cup but is now served with less of the mixers and in a 12 oz cup, the alcohol content is the same. You can request a 16 oz cup instead, the alcohol content will be the same but there will be more sour mix and tea.

As mentioned, Hog’s Head Pub has a full bar so Muggles will most likely find their favorite cocktail available. Besides my beloved Hog’s Tea there is also one other specialty beverage.

Pear Dazzle: Hog’s Head Pub, and Three Broomsticks, offer non alcoholic pear cider and apple cider (to help with the lack of Muggle sodas).  Vodka is mixed with pear cider and a splash of lemonade and garnished with a cherry. This drink is pretty popular, though it’s not my cup of tea when compared to Hog’s Tea.

As if there weren’t enough reasons to love Hog’s Head Pub already, an adult Potterhead’s dream has now come true. Fire Whisky is real!!! Although Fire Whisky barely gets any mention in the Harry Potter movies, it is mentioned quite a few times in the Harry Potter books. When Hogsmeade Village first opened and again when Diagon Alley opened, many fans hoped that Fire Whisky would be one of the beverages from the Wizarding World made real. Sadly this was not the case and imaginative park goers like myself settled for ordering Fireball Whisky at one of Universal Orlando’s other bars and taking it into Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley.

But just this past weekend the Wizarding World of Harry Potter introduced their very own Fire Whisky, marking the very first signature liquor to hit the shelves of Universal Orlando. You can now enjoy Fire Whisky at both the Hog’s Head Pub and in Diagon Alley. It is made by TerrePure Spirits in South Carolina; sure makes this Southern Girl proud!

Fire Whisky: A smooth, cinnamon flavored whiskey that is smoother and not as “hot” as well-known Fireball Whisky. You can order it as a shot on its own or enjoy it as part of these specialty drinks listed below.

Amaretto Fire: Equal parts Fire Whisky and Amaretto plus half a shot of triple sec and 6 oz of cranberry juice. While I have not tried this drink myself I have heard from a few folks that it is very heavy on the cranberry flavor.

Fire & Chata: A very popular drink or shot using Fireball Whisky and Rum Chata is called “Cinnamon Toast Crunch”. Rum Chata is a creamy, cinnamon flavored rum based on the Mexico drink, Horchata. Admittedly I enjoy this flavor combination and really enjoyed Hog’s Head Pub’s version a lot.

Fire Whisky Sour: A traditional Whiskey Sour is a pretty popular drink, Hog’s Head version is not as tasty and I think this is probably due to flavor of the Fire Whisky. Still it is a good choice for anyone who enjoys a Whiskey Sour. One shot of Fire Whisky is mixed with 4 oz of sour mix and sweetened with some sugar.

The bartenders told me they are still playing around with what can be done with the Fire Whisky so be sure to ask Leah, Kim, Jordan, or any of the other wonderful bartenders if they have any new Fire Whisky favorites.

You can also get really creative and add a shot of Fire Whisky to one of Hog’s Head’s beer combinations. I suggest the Hog’s Bite or for the really daring, the Deathly Hallows.

Fire and Strongbow: Sure you can order Strongbow Cider on its own, or for $2 more you can add a shot of Fire Whisky. This was the first drink I tried with Fire Whisky and I must say this is now on the list of my favorite adult drinks at Universal Orlando.

The addition of Fire Whisky is just one more reason I love Hog’s Head Pub. When you pop in for a visit be sure to take a few moments (which you may have plenty of since the line can get pretty long) and notice all the details. From the signage to the sound effects there are so many details that make this one of Orlando’s best theme park bars.

If I somehow missed a Hog’s Head Pub specialty drink that you enjoy, be sure to leave us a comment about it. Cheers!