Starbucks holiday drinks menu review

Lily Bruch and Kai Strzelecki • November 18, 2025

Starbucks’ 2025 winter menu offers a lineup that is cozy, nostalgic and made for sweet tooths. The menu was released on Nov. 5.

As the weather cools and festive red cups return, Starbucks’ 2025 winter menu offers a lineup that is cozy, nostalgic and made for people with a sweet tooth. This year’s featured drinks — the Peppermint Mocha, Caramel Brulee Latte, Iced Sugar Cookie Latte, Iced Sugar Cookie Breve and Iced Gingerbread Chai — promise holiday cheer in every sip.

Iced Sugar Cookie Latte

Since its introduction in 2021, the Iced Sugar Cookie Latte remains as a returning item every winter holiday season. This vanilla flavored drink for $6.45 for a Grande comes with a borderline over-sugary taste. Reviewed by two coffee and cookie lovers, the Iced Sugar Cookie Latte is for people with a sweet tooth and caffeine connoisseurs. The green and red dyed sprinkles add to the festive holiday season, but create an inconsistent sip when the hard sprinkles end up in your mouth.

Rating: 4/5

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Iced Gingerbread Chai

The Iced Gingerbread Chai opens with notes of warm chai seasoning, topped to the brim with nondairy gingerbread-flavored cold foam that ties the drink together. This is our favorite of the drinks and the most affordable at $6.25 for a Grande. The Christmas-esque sensation of gingerbread flavoring created a nostalgic feeling of comfort with the combination of the chai flavor and sweetness of the gingerbread.

Rating: 5/5

Caramel Brulée Latte

Popular both iced and hot, the Caramel Brulée Latte satisfies that caramel craving. This latte is a signature espresso with rich caramel brulée sauce. For a classic drink, $6.75 for a Grande seemed excessive in comparison to drinks that are year-round. The caramel brulée toppings on the whipped cream transformed a basic topping to a cream of comfort with its warming sensation of the caramel. The only thing that let us down is the lack of holiday vibes presented in this latte compared to the peppermint flavored drinks and the red and green sprinkles in the Sugar Cookie Latte.

Rating: 4.5/5

Per usual, the Starbucks Christmas drinks did not disappoint because of their expertise, as the company has been serving holiday drinks since 1984. Starbucks’ ability to blend nostalgia with new seasonal twists continues to make each winter menu a highlight of the holiday season, providing once again that few brands capture the spirit of the season quite like Starbucks.

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About the Contributors

Lily Bruch, Arts and Entertainment Editor

As Lily Bruch continues her dedication to the Falconer in her second—and senior—year, she steps into the role of Entertainment Editor with excitement and curiosity. With a passion for storytelling and a keen eye for the arts, Bruch is ready to bring a creative spark to the section and help shape the Falconer’s voice during her final year. Outside the newsroom, she is a physical therapy intern, where she continues to explore her interest in health and hands-on care. When she’s not writing, interning or editing pages, you can find her crafting jewelry whenever Michaels has a sale, sunset swimming in the ocean with her best friends or putting on fashion shows in her living room. Whether chasing stories or butterflies-in-the-stomach moments, Bruch is eager to make her last year on staff unforgettable.

Kai Strzelecki, Director of Outreach

Kai Strzelecki, a junior entering his second year on the Falconer staff, is Director of Outreach, the bridge between stories and the community that reads them. Whether he’s scouting out the perfect latte or exploring a new corner of the world, Strzelecki brings curiosity and a love for discovery to everything he does. This year, he’s determined to keep the paper’s voice strong and its stories sharp, making sure articles are not just read, but remembered.