Starbucks holiday drinks are nearly here! Starting November 1, 2013, you’ll see the return of the Eggnog Latte, the Peppermint Mocha, the Caramel Brulee Latte, and the Gingerbread Latte. The Gingerbread Latte gets a new and improved recipe: the topping is now a real molasses drizzle, and the whipped cream is a spice flavored whipped cream. Tomorrow is the big day! The launch of the holiday drinks is when so many people look forward to red cups and their favorite beverage.
I recommend an older blog post on the history of the Eggnog Latte – it’s been offered at Starbucks every year since 1986. The Caramel Brulee Latte was the most recent introduction to the holiday drink lineup, having been introduced in November 2009.
I know that a few people have had sneak peeks of the new Gingerbread Latte. What do you think? What’s your favorite holiday beverage? Thank you to the three readers who submitted great photos!
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Every year it seems the holidays get earlier and earlier but then this year Hanukkah falls on Thanksgiving! There are already decorated Xmas trees around here. The pics actually look better than the drinks that I see the partners make. I do not like too sweet of a drink but if I picked one it would have to be the Caramel Brulee Latte. Early holiday greetings to all.
The drinks look good. I wish there were sugar free and less sweet offerings. Too sweet to enjoy. Starbucks should consider healthier options with these drinks.
Yay, you just made my Halloween, Melody. I’ve been anxiously waiting the arrival of my favorite Caramel Brûlée Latte. Now, the question is for my 1st one of the season to be hot or iced. I think I’ll have them add that new molasses drizzle on top, could always use more Iron (although I’m sure this type will barely have any since it won’t be blackstrap, esp. in that little amount). I think I’ll visit my favorite Starbucks with my realistic old lady mask & demand a CBL 1 day early, hehe.
Can’t wait to try this drink! With the rich maple drizzle and spiced whipped cream, it sounds like it’ll have more of a ginger snap flavor, which is right up my alley. I usually go with the peppermint mochas (both milk and white chocolate) and may sometimes add a pump or two of raspberry flavoring.
@Judy We do have a Skinny Peppermint Mocha during the holidays. We can also customize any drinks to reduce the amount of syrup and/or toppings. 🙂
I am going to have to make multiple trips so I can try them all!! So excited for the eggnog latte 🙂
@Melody – Thanks for kicking off the holiday season with this post. I don’t know which to try first, but it’ll probably be the gingerbread, since it’s been updated.
I agree with Judy, and often have drinks with one less pump of sauce/syrup. (Devin’s the best, right?!)
Early holiday greetings to all, too.
@MistyKnight – I will definitely have an Eggnog Latte tomorrow to kick off the red cup seasons, but I think it’s the new Gingerbread Latte which I’ll be drinking often. 🙂
@TheKwan – Devin IS the best. I appreciate the partners who come on here and help out.
@MissLaily – Did you get your Gingerbread Latte one day early?
Please let this really be improved! I want to like the gingerbread latte but it always tastes funny to me. What I end up doing is having a gingerbread/eggnog hybrid that is very good but I can only have once in a black Friday (get it?). In any case I am excited to try it.
Here in New Zealand we have Gingerbread latte, Toffee Nut, and Peppermint Mocha. I’d love to try some of the others
When I was in Paris last November I was shocked they have no peppermint mochas! Apparently in France chocolate & mint together is disgusting. I had no idea! Two weeks at the end of Nov with no peppermint mochas, it was not fun. But hey, I was in Paris so who cares, right? The treats case there was 1,000x better!
@Melody – I didn’t even get a chance to go. Realized my super realistic old lady mask was in storage, so just skipped it. Btw, it was a Caramel Brûlée Latte that’s my favorite. I think the Gingerbread Latte is not for me, either that, or they just made it horribly gross last year when I tried one. I think I’ll give the new & improved version 1 more chance, maybe it’ll turn out like what happened w/ the Pumpkin Spice Latte (I never liked it before, until this year). Although, I’m sure nothing will beat my CBL. Alas, they don’t sell the sauce (whether in stores or on their site). Anybody out there want to hook me up w/ a jug of the sauce? I’ll be forever grateful.
Just curious as this morning I did not see any new promotions or boards for the new drinks or anything holiday related. I did see the red cups though but other than that nothing. My local SB is pretty good about putting things up. Has anyone else seen the holiday displays?
@Purple1 – Since today is only a “soft launch” for just beverages, I would expect very few signs and displays. The big holiday launch will be 11/12 – all the Christmas merch and Christmas Blend launches then.
I got the gingerbread latte this morning and it’s so much better. I always thought it tasted funny before. The one I went through had a sign out for the gingerbread, peppermint mocha and caramel brulee at the drive through. No eggnog listed, although that’s one of my favorites.
I tried the new GBL today and it was very different tasting from the previous version. The spiced whipped cream makes a huge difference. I will be drinking more of these since they taste more authentic than my other favorite fall drink: the PSL.
In the UK we are getting Orange Mocha instead of Peppermint Mocha.
This I what I like about the holiday drinks. Hop skip and a jump from getting all the holiday gear they sell.
I have loved your holiday drinks in the past but this year find myself having to do gluten free. I sure wish Starbucks would adopt this with so many with severe gluten issues!
I love the red cups this year…I love when they do darker shades of red, and gold accents to boot! <3 Love, love, love!
@purple1 I only noticed the red cups and the red cup Starbucks card in the store yesterday…so I don't think you're missing out on anything…like Melody said! 🙂
I am excited to try the new and improved Gingerbread latte…I haven't had more than one in recent years because I too thought it had a weird taste to it…so I stuck to the PSL. But now I have to try one to see how it is!
We fully launched Holiday in Canada today….my morning pick me up was a doppio espresso macchiato with spiced whipped cream! Mmmm.
Many of my stores sold out of the advent calendar on day one! The packaging this year is AWESOME!
Love the new red cups this year! I’m in the test market for the Chestnut Praline and really like it. Very “roasty” tasting and not as sweet as some others. I don’t usually get whipped cream but did this time since I wanted to get the full experience with the praline topping.
Chestnut Praline?! wow!
@Hayley – The two big test drinks – The Chestnut Praline Latte and the Cherries Jubilee Mocha are both on my list of things that I need to write about soon. I was hoping that someone would email me a pic of any signs for either of those drinks, or a pic of the Chestnut Praline bottle. I have some pics I can use, and could almost put together an article now, but I’m waiting to see if I can get in a little more info and a few more pics. I’d also like more info about which cities have the Chestnut Praline.
@Cindy Gange-Harris – I know the spice-infused whipped cream definitely takes the Gingerbread Latte to a new level! Makes me think I should try the whipped cream in a doppio con panna. Thank you for dropping by!
@TimSandor – Too funny. The holiday drinks are the bridge to a really festive time. 🙂
@Melody—-Hey, Starbucks for this Holiday season now have New Holiday-designed Cold Cups! They are soo festive , and pretty more so than the hot holiday cups!
Though, both locations were Licensed stores(including the new looking Target store I mention earlier this year, great staff), and only saw hot holiday cups at Corporate-Store ,so maybe its just Licensed-stores only?
My favorite was the Truffle, what happened to that one?! Can you still make it upon request?
@Melody and @Tim – I would love to see pictures of the holiday -designed cold cups!! I always wondered why they didn’t do a little something for them…even a different straw. I haven’t seen any around here, but haven’t been to a licensed store in a awhile.
I too would like to see what the holiday cold cup looks like. LOL, I was just going to come here begging someone to share a pic so we can all see it. I’ve heard some locations do have the holiday cold cups, but unfortunately mine is not one of them. I’m still holding out hope that perhaps they will magically appear at my local Starbucks when they do the full holiday roll out.
Can we talk about ow the new Holiday Turkey sandwich doesn’t come with lettuce this year? 🙁
Hi Maria! Sorry it took me so long to reply to you – In 2008, Starbucks offered a beverage called the “Espresso Truffle” as a holiday beverage. It was made with a “signature hot chocolate” which isn’t available today. It’s mentioned in this official blog post here –
http://blogs.starbucks.com/blogs/customer/archive/2008/11/25/dark-chocolate-mocha-defined.aspx
Somehow, I don’t think it is coming back. But, it sounds like that was the drink you liked so much.
That was the drink that I loved. I really do wish they bring something similar back. 🙁
Mmmm! That new Gingerbread Latte looks delicious! Did you try it already? I wonder if the Gingerbread Latte in our menu in Japan is new also?
PS: I am loving the new Christmas design in stores. I was not a big fan of the pointy-nose snow people we’ve had the past few years. This year’s shopper bag is definitely one of my favorites! 😀
I LOVE the gingerbread latte but what happened to the sugar free version? It’s really a lot of sugar and I can’t handle that much everyday. Seeing as I’ve been looking forward to kicking off my holiday season with the GB latte I’m extremely
Disappointed 🙁
There has not been a sugar-free version of the gingerbread latte (at least not nationally in the last 5 years). It’s possible that there have been test markets, though I haven’t heard of any…If possible, I’d suggest getting less pumps of syrup to mitigate the sugar, or get a smaller size and without whip, eliminating that excess sugar.
If someone asks me for a skinny gingerbread latte, I explain to them that we don’t have sugar-free, but can do non-fat, no whip. Most of them look at me like I have 3 heads, as most customers don’t realize that skinny also means sugar-free. It’s possible that you’ve ordered a skinny GL before, and the barista has done just that without the explanation…
And just when I thought I was getting good at the lingo…. Thank you Rebecca!!
I don’t know what you have as holiday food items in the US but in Ireland they’ve brought in a baked Christmas pudding cheesecake which is without doubt the nicest food item that I have ever got at Starbucks !
The signature hot chocolate was so rich and creamy! It was beyond decadent! I still miss it even though it hasn’t been offered in years.
I got my code on Saturday for a free tall drink. I stopped at a Starbucks store in Costa Mesa, CA and got a Gingerbread latte. It was very tasty.
Literally so excited to finally get a gingerbread latte. Literally my all time favorite Starbucks drink
I believe Tim was talking about (holiday) cold cups that drinks are served in, and not reusable cold cup tumblers for sale. In recent memory, I cannot recall Starbucks doing this before. The cold cups include graphics like ornaments, snowflakes, etcetera.
I’m disappointed that I haven’t heard of a cold cup tumbler reboot for the holidays. I loved last year’s removable holiday insert. Quite a few stores I visited this week did not have holiday merchandise out, except for the advent calendar. Only today did I find a store with the red cup gift cards (and just two had the holiday cold cups).
[Apologies if this is confusing.]
Side note: I contacted Starbucks earlier this week to ask if the mini gift cards (in the advent calendar) were going to be sold separately, but did not hear back.
The holiday decorations are now up and again I just wonder why they seem so focused on Xmas especially with Hanukkah starting around Thanksgiving. Also, there are other holidays people observe. I have no issue with holiday decorations but why can’t they be more neutral in observance? Most of the new gift cards seem to focus on Xmas.
@Purple – I totally agree. I so wish they offered an Eid card, as well as the other holidays that people celebrate. Americans are a diverse people, and Christmas is not the only holiday that should be mass-celebrated.
I was really exited to try the gingerbread latte as I love ginerbread.
It was lovely and spicy but the sweetness really killed it for me thete should be an alternstive for people who take their drinks unsweetend.
🙁
I don’t know what Starbucks has done to their gingerbread syrup this year, but it is terrible and tastes nothing like gingerbread. It tastes like a RED HOT. There is nothing ginger-y or molasses-y about it. It tastes like fiery cinnamon. Unfortunately it wasn’t drinkable for my friend and I – we threw ours away 🙁 So sad. I guess I’ll stick with the eggnog latte this year.
the eggnog latte isn’t out yet in Iowa 🙁
I tried the gingerbread latte today and hated it. It tasted funky and bitter. Yuck!
I am so sad and disappointed that you discontinued the Gingerbread Latte in my District. I look forward to this every year, just the like Pumpkin Spice because it tastes like Fall. But the Gingerbread is my very absolute favorite. I have tried 3 locations in my area and all of them tell me the same thing. “We are trying out the Praline blah blah…” Well I tried it. It doesn’t taste like Christmas to me. I won’t go into detail of how much money I spend at Starbucks in a year. I am sure you don’t care and you stopped selling it for reasons of your own that right now I do not care about either. A word of advice…If you want to try out a new product get me in the store first for the product I want and am already there for. It is after all all about product and brand loyalty. Now all you have is another sad customer. There is only so many of those you can afford.
I am loving the new GBL and molasses drizzle this fall. I am always eating healthy canned pumpkin, and I find the molasses drizzle has an authentic, slightly bitter, earthy pumpkin flavor to it. I think ordering a Pumpkin Spice Latte with whip and molasses drizzle would really amp-up the pumpkin flavor, especially since the PSL doesn’t actually contain any real pumpkin in the ingredients.
I wonder what a latte would taste like just using the molasses drizzle as a sauce to mix in with the espresso??? A molasses latte. Man, I wish I worked at Starbucks so I could try this. I think the combination of the smoky and sweet molasses would pair beautifully with the bitter and bold espresso notes.
So disheartened. Diagnosed gluten sensitive earlier this year. As my fav holidays come around I can no longer able enjoy my past favs of GBL and PSL. I used to frequent Starbucks 2 to 3 times a week. But what’s the point one can’t enjoy any baked GF goodies nor any seasonal drinks GF offered. Such a shame that a leading company who has tons of money to advertise in so many ways and has so many stores can’t do a lil research and offer GF options to customers who were so loyal in the past. Such a let down!
The caramel brulee latte (iced) is by far my favorite! I wish I didn’t have a bad experience with the gingerbread latte last year, because I would love to try it again, but I am very hesitant.