The Best Starbucks Holiday Drinks of 2021, Ranked
We’ve already sipped our way through Starbucks’s fall menu, including the new apple crisp macchiato. Now, we have our sights set on the coffee chain’s 2021 winter drinks. Just so you know exactly what to order, we’ve ranked the best Starbucks holiday drinks to sip on from sweater season through New Year’s—consider it an early Christmas gift. Read on for our faves, plus all the deets on the first non-dairy holiday drink to ever grace the menu.
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10. Iced Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte
Rookie of the year
Available This Year: Yes
We haven't tried this sprinkle-topped gem ourselves, so we won't subject it to ranking just yet. But boy, do we have high hopes for this beaut. First, we'll say that we *love* a cold coffee in the dead of winter, so props to Starbucks for putting an iced bev on the menu. We'll also give props to the chain for adding their first-ever non-dairy holiday drink to the roster, since milk should never stand between you and caffeine. It's made with sugar cookie-flavored syrup, blonde espresso and creamy almond milk, then topped with red and green cookie sprinkles for good measure. We'll be ordering ours with extra whipped cream and bringing it home to top with a crumbled sugar cookies, thank you very much.
9. Irish Cream Cold Brew
Best for cold foam lovers
Available This Year: Yes
This baby is back earlier than ever in 2021, so we can officially say that there are two iced drinks on the holiday menu. It starts with Starbucks's signature silky cold brew and Irish cream syrup, which offers hints of vanilla and chocolate to the bev without bogging it down with sweetness. It's finished with a layer of vanilla sweet cream cold foam and a dusting of cocoa. (P.S., we wouldn't judge if you took yours home to spike with a shot of Irish whiskey...just sayin'.)
8. Salted Caramel Mocha Latte
Best to try in hot chocolate
Available This Year: If you ask
RIP to this no-longer-available fall gem (though you can totally still ask the barista to add mocha and toffee nut or caramel syrups to your drink). There’s nothing wrong with this salty-sweet mashup of mocha sauce, toffee nut syrup, espresso and steamed milk. But if we’re being honest, it’s super sweet, and we’re not always in the mood for a coffee that tastes like liquid dessert. So, this holiday flavor is our go-to whenever we’re really craving a treat, like hot cocoa. That way, we can get our fix without having to sacrifice the buzz from our morning java to an inevitable sugar crash.
7. Santa Claus Frappuccino
Best secret menu Frappuccino
Available This Year: Yes
While the Santa Claus Frappuccino isn't officially on the Starbucks menu (it's the invention of Totally the Bomb), it went viral last winter, thanks to its festive appearance and fun flavors. It's just a vanilla bean Frap, which comes coffee-free, dressed up with swirls of strawberry syrup. Don't get us wrong—it's never too cold out for an icy blended drink—but we feel the official Starbucks holiday flavors tend to shine brightest when served hot in a latte or cocoa. The Santa Claus has no hot alternative (other than maybe a strawberry milk steamer, which we can also totally get behind).
6. Chestnut Praline Latte
Most underrated
Available This Year: Yes
You forgot about this one, huh? You’re not alone—it’s easy to neglect this flavor among so many menu heavyweights, especially if you never stray from your usual order. But we’re here to make a case for this underappreciated sipper. Steamed milk and espresso meet silky notes of caramelized chestnuts and warm spices for a cozy, sweet bev that won’t knock you over the head with holly-jolly flourishes. While it doesn’t have bright red sugar sprinkles or in-your-face seasonal flavor, it’s a nutty, balanced pick that we think deserves more credit. Come on, it’s topped with spiced praline crumbs. Need we say more?
5. Caramel Brulée Latte
Best for newbies
Available This Year: Yes
Even if you’ve never tried a Starbucks holiday drink, we’re pretty damn positive you’d enjoy this one. It stars rich, buttery Caramel Brulée sauce, inspired by crème brûlée’s layer of torched sugar. The pretty caramel brulée topping mimics the crunch of burnt sugar even further. While it has all the sweet, comforting traits of a standard caramel latte, this pick has a spiced, almost smoky nuance to it that we get psyched for every single year.
4. Toasted Caramel Brulée Cold Brew
Best flavor mashup
Available This Year: Yes
The Salted Caramel Mocha is a mix of toffee nut and mocha syrups. The Peppermint Mocha is a blend of...well, it's in the name. But this secret menu gem, created by Totally the Bomb, stars two holiday flavors that we had no idea were soulmates—until we tasted it, that is. The Toasted Caramel Brulée Cold Brew is made with both caramel brulée and toasted white mocha sauces for a collab that's rich with notes of marshmallow, brown butter and burnt sugar. It's topped with caramel brulée-infused sweet cream, but you'll *definitely* want to ask the barista for whipped cream and the crunchy caramel brulée topping, too. Thank us later.
3. Toasted White Chocolate Mocha
Best to try iced
Available This Year: Yes
Imagine the white mocha you sip on year-round—only infused with toasted marshmallow and topped with the most festive candy pearls and sprinkles you’ve ever seen. The sauce has a caramelized white chocolate flavor that we straight-up can’t get enough of. In fact, we add it to our cold brew every chance we get. Both hot and iced, the latte has a super smooth, almost luxurious mouthfeel and just the right amount of sweetness, thanks to the thick sauce.
2. Pumpkin Spice Latte
Most iconic
Available This Year: Yes
The PSL is that b**** for a reason. Coffee drinkers dream of the pumpkin syrup months ahead of fall. Bursting with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, the PSL is as autumnal as coffee can get—and even if you’re not totally obsessed with it, you’ll be hard-pressed to find something flat-out wrong with it. (We’ve also grown loyal to the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, sweetened with vanilla syrup and topped with pumpkin cream cold foam.) Try your hand at making one at home.
1. Peppermint Mocha
Best to try as a Frappuccino
Available This Year: Yes
Consider this a cup of liquid holiday bark. Decadent mocha sauce meets cool peppermint syrup, roasty espresso and steamed milk for a festive mashup that’s sure to stand the test of time. Like the Salted Caramel Mocha, the Peppermint Mocha is a bit of a sugar bomb because it’s made with more than one flavor syrup. That’s why we enjoy this enduring combination most in a Frappuccino; the blended ice and milk help dilute the sweetness. But don’t get us wrong: Just because it’s sweet doesn’t mean we’re skipping the whipped cream or the dark chocolate curls.
