Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” was undoubtedly last year’s song of the summer, so you had to assume it was only a matter of time before there would be a Sabrina Carpenter signature drink at one of the big nationwide coffee retailers (Carpenter fans were already treated to a pop-up cafe, read about it here).
If I had to bet money, I would’ve put it on Starbucks, but Sabrina threw a curveball at us by shunning the green mermaid in favor of Dunkin. I’m not sure who is in charge of these collabs at Dunkin’ but whoever it is, they’re killing it. Two years back Dunkin’ scooped up Ice Spice when the hype over her was at an all-time high, and perfectly integrated her brand into theirs.
That drink was called the “Munchkins” drink, named after an iconic product Dunkin’ sells, and also the name of Ice Spice’s fanbase, so we had pretty high expectations for how the brand would integrate Sabrina into its universe. And from the look of this promo video, it seems they knocked it out of the park again.
The video, titled “Shake That Ess’ with Sabrina Carpenter,” perfectly captures Sabrina’s cheeky and crude brand of humor.
But look, it doesn’t matter how great an exercise in brand synergy and marketing is at the end of the day we have one question: is the drink any good? We found out by buying Sabrina’s Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso, and giving it a through taste test! Here are our thoughts.
Sabrina’s Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso
Thoughts & Tasting Notes:
Sabrina’s Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso is maybe the most basic drink Dunkin’ could’ve come up with. It consists of espresso shaken in ice with brown sugar syrup and oat milk. It’s so unimaginative that we assume it already existed in some form before the brand slapped Sabrina’s name on it.
Here is the thing though — the drink is pretty good. Rather than rely on gimmicks or unnecessary flavor combinations, this drink keeps things simple and classic, and because of that, we don’t really have anything to complain about from a flavor standpoint. It’s sweet, earthy, rich, and has a nice toasty aftertaste. Espresso and oatmilk just taste great together, and that’s coming from someone who usually likes their lattes with whole milk.
Is it vital to go out and get this drink you can experience it? No, you’ve probably had something like this in some form before. But it’s also not a drink that is exclusive to hardcore Sabrina Carpenter fans. It’s for everyone.
The Bottom Line:
The recipe could’ve been a bit more thoughtful, but we’d be lying if we didn’t say we enjoyed every sip of this sweet, brown sugar iced latte.
Find your nearest Dunkin’ here.