It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and not just because it’s the holiday season… Starbucks released its holiday menu with a plethora of delicious drinks to get you into the holiday spirit. From hot chocolate to cold gingerbread, Starbucks has flavors for all of their customers this season. We decided to see which drinks are truly worth the hype, encapsulating the holiday spirit, and what drinks to pass on this winter.
- Sugar Cookie Cold Brew
We had high expectations for the Sugar Cookie Cold Brew. Starbucks advertises a number of their new seasonal cream cold foams: Peppermint Chocolate, Sugar Cookie, Chestnut Praline, and Caramel Brulee. These cold foams can be added to your drink for a nice sweet flavor, and are most commonly an addition to their cold brew. Unfortunately, we do not recommend the cream cold foams and cold brew combination. The Sugar Cookie Cold Brew was very bitter, with a hint of sweet sugar cookie flavor. However, if you normally don’t enjoy Starbucks’ sweeter drinks and enjoy a nice bitter cup of iced coffee, this may be the drink for you.
- Peppermint Mocha
The Peppermint Mocha drink is truly the quintessential winter drink. Upon the first sip, there is a burst of peppermint and chocolate warmth that instantly puts you into the holiday spirit. It truly feels like it is meant to be a cold day with white snow coating every inch of the ground. Although it is quite delicious, we feel that the peppermint flavor is a bit overpowering for the beverage, however, we would absolutely still add it to our holiday drink rotation.
- Caramel Brulee Latte
This drink was a nice sweet drink, but it didn’t exactly encapsulate the holiday spirit. It tasted almost exactly like another Starbucks drink, the Caramel Macchiato. We are not sure what “brulee” means, but we got none of that specific flavor in the drink. According to the Starbucks website, the “caramel brulee sauce” is separate from the “caramel sauce,” but the flavors are essentially the same. If you like a sweet caramel drink, we recommend purchasing the (cheaper and non-seasonal) caramel macchiato.
- Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte
At first glance, the Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte looks a bit conspicuous with the handful of Christmas-colored sprinkles floating on top of the iced beverage. However, the overall taste is quite good! This refresher is perfect for holiday enthusiasts with a sweet tooth. It is extremely milky and sweet, yet exceptionally enjoyable. Although it is not our favorite, we would get it again.
- Chestnut Praline Latte
There is nothing much to say about the Chestnut Praline Latte; it tasted exactly how we expected. The drink had a nice nutty and creamy taste. On its own, it can be a bit boring, but combining it with one of Starbucks’ bakery items could make it a deliciously warm side drink. It has a holiday vibe to it and a good taste, so overall this was a great drink.
- Peppermint Hot Chocolate
Starbucks’ Peppermint Hot Chocolate exceeded our expectations. The initial overwhelming smell of peppermint made us a bit apprehensive. Peppermint and chocolate are often a love-it-or-hate-it combination, and we usually hate it, however, this was a delicious balance of the two. Unlike many other mint and chocolate combos, this drink was not too pepperminty. There was an equal amount of spice and chocolate that led to a warm wintery drink.
- Gingerbread Oatmilk Chai Latte
The Gingerbread Oatmilk Chai Latte truly blew us away. This is the newest edition to Starbucks’s nationwide menu this year, and we are here for it. We were hesitant at first since neither of us is specifically enthusiastic about the flavor of gingerbread, but somehow it works perfectly in this refreshment. The mix of oat milk, chai, and gingerbread perfectly complement each other. It also reminds us a lot of The Pumpkin Cream Chai Latte that we previously ranked as our favorite drink when trying the Starbucks Fall Menu. The seasonal Starbucks Chai Lattes always tend to wow us.
