We’re just a few days removed from Halloween, and major restaurant chains are already rolling out their holiday-themed menus. With each passing year, it feels like we are increasingly inclined to skip right over Thanksgiving. Apparently, November 1 now marks the official start of the holiday season.
We aren’t here to complain, as we are big fans of holiday cheer. Besides, seasonal flavors are often some of our favorites of the entire year. McDonald’s just launched their new line of holiday coffees to kick off the season, so we made sure to be among the first to sample them. Without further ado, here is our official review of the McDonald’s Cookie Butter coffees.
Among all flavored fast-food coffees, this is likely one of the best versions we have ever tasted. It outperforms most of what Dunkin’ offers, presenting itself as an authentically coffee-forward beverage where the added flavoring complements the roast rather than masking it. It carries a hint of caramel that never tastes artificial, and the subtle warming spices provide a complexity that leans into festive holiday notes without becoming overwhelming. In our opinion, this is about as good as fast-food coffee gets.
The latte was a clear improvement over the frappe in almost every regard. The flavor profile is delicate, sweet, warm, and complex, lacking the heavy, artificial quality we often associate with McDonald’s coffee drinks. Instead, it is a genuinely pleasant beverage with a mild spiciness that evokes the holidays. That said, much of that flavor was overshadowed by an aggressive, burnt espresso note. It is worth noting that between the hot and iced versions, the hot latte was the superior choice.
Drinking the frappe from this collection was a strange experience. Honestly, it tasted as though it used a completely different syrup than the rest of the lineup, making it unbearably sweet and far less successful. It tastes much more artificial and lacks the simple, deep cookie butter profile found in the other drinks. Of the options available, this is the only one I would not recommend and would not order again. The coffee is undetectable, and the overall composition of the drink feels off.
