We often talk about darker, maltier, bolder beers when fall rolls around. We wax poetic on how stouts, porters, and dark lagers are all perfectly warming autumn sippers. But sometimes drinkers don’t want to drink a beer that fits into a seasonal box. They simply want a beer with a little kick. A beer with slightly (or extremely) higher alcohol content.
The kind of beer where you only need to drink one or two and you’re toasty and snug from the inside out.
To find these higher-ABV gems we turned to professionals. We asked a few well-known brewers and craft beer experts to tell us the one high-alcohol, warming beer that they’ll be imbibing this season. And even though it’s fall, the answers we got back included double IPAs, triple IPAs, black IPAs, Belgian ales, and other *seemingly* lighter beers. If you’re on the lookout for a warming, high-octane fall beer that doesn’t necessarily fit the mold of what a fall beer should be (although, to be fair, some do!), this is the list for you.
Keep scrolling to see all of their potent picks!
To Øl Black Malts & Body Salts
To Øl
Jody Valenta, co-president and COO of Roadhouse Brewing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
To Øl Black Malts & Body Salts is my pick. This imperial black India Pale Ale with coffee added is so complex, but still somehow balanced, and each sip is worth the conscious exercise of allowing yourself to truly experience it.
Because of the couple of times I’ve been able to have it, Pliny the Elder. The combination of Amarillo, Simcoe, and Simcoe is so piney and grapefruity. It’s delicious and potent, yet drinkable 8% ABV. Sure to give you a warm feeling this fall.
More Brewing Tri-Clamp & Gasket
More Brewing
Garth E. Beyer, certified Cicerone® and owner and founder of Garth’s Brew Bar in Madison, Wisconsin
ABV: 10%
Average Price: Limited Availability
Why This Beer?
Stout isn’t the only style to warm the body. As of late, I’ve been reaching for Triple IPAs for the higher-octane nights. More Brewing’s Tri-Clamp & Gasket is a 10% hazy triple IPA that does just the job. Rather than robust chocolate and roasty notes of normal higher ABV beers, this IPA wows you with complexity of Amarillo, Citra, Strata, and Idaho 7 hops.
St. Bernardus Abt 12
St. Bernardus
Daniel Gadala-Maria, brewer at Finback Brewery in Glendale, New York
Drier examples of Belgian dark strong ale, like Rochefort 10 or St. Bernardus Abt 12, are not only my favorite warming, higher ABV beers; they’re my favorite beers overall. Specifically, St. Bernardus Abt 12 with Flavors of toast, nuts, and dried fruits (e.g., raisins and figs) define this yeast-and-malt-driven style. Paired with some cocoa-dusted almonds, there’s nothing better.
Duvel from Duvel Moortgat. This is The One. Seriously. Like Neo in the Matrix. This is pretty much one of my favorite beers of all-time. The flavors and aromas of fruity pear-like esters, and herbal and floral hop character, coupled with the mild phenolic and perfumy alcohol characteristics is a concoction from heaven itself. I especially love the highly carbonated and extremely dry finish of this beer.
It has such great drinkability but will warm you up quickly so slow-your-roll with this gem.
Samuel Adams Utopias
Samuel Adams
Chris Spinelli, co-founder and brewer at Roc Brewing in Rochester, NY
Samuel Adams Utopias is a great warming fall beer. Every year it’s a little bit different, but some things remain the same. This includes the ridiculously high alcohol content and flavors. The consistent dark fruit, maple, and vanilla come through in all releases.
Mott the Lesser, a Russian imperial stout from Tributary Brewing. This beer is always special, and I try to have a bottle or two stashed away for when I am craving something boozy and cozy. Rich chocolate flavors, roasted malts, warmth from ABV, and barrel-aging (*see Batch 12 (Fall 2019): Apple Brandy, port, Madeira, Jamaican rum barrels), this beer is one of my favorites.
When the temperatures start to fall outside, one of my go-to styles to drink is Belgian Tripels. One of my favorite Tripels is La Fin Du Monde from Unibroue. Amazing yeast-driven aroma and flavor of spice and ripe banana all packed in a remarkably light and easy-drinking beer. And at 9% ABV, it’ll warm you from the inside out.
Monday Night Bourbon Barrel-Aged Drafty Kilt
Monday Night
Ian Brown, head brewer at Biggerstaff Brewing in Atlanta
I always really liked Monday Night’s BBA Drafty Kilt Scotch Sle. Not sure if they still make it but it was so full of flavor without being too much barrel. The right amount of chocolate and booze. Miss it.
If I’m pulling for a higher ABV beer in the fall, I end up turning my attention to a classic like Dogfish 120 Minute IPA. It’s not a beer I can drink all that often, but when the time is right this beer hits perfectly. The hop balance with sweetness and warming booze is perfect for when the sun has set on a crisp fall day.
Yes, this is an for Belvedere Vodka. It’s also directed by Taika Waititi with music from Rita Ora and Griggs, and it features Daniel Craig simultaneously channeling Right Said Fred and Christopher Walken from the Weapon of Choice music video.
It is a video that you simply allow to happen to you.
From the scenic Pont Neuf in Paris to the bombardment of cameras to the rooftops where Craig gets to let his tank tops fly, there is a powerful joy in every frame. It’s also highly likely that this is just an average day in Craig’s life. Gorgeous scenery, pushy paparazzi followed by 10 full hours of dancing bare-armed before drinking alone. Following Dave Bautista’s opinion that Craig seems happier in Knives Out than he did as Bond, the ad might also offer some meta-commentary on Craig’s freedom from the oppressive bonds (sorry) of that iconic role.
Or it’s just a schmancy ad for vodka.
Then again… Waititi exhorting Craig (and the audience) to “Just be yourself” is mildly troubling. Is he saying that Craig wasn’t just being himself as he danced so joyfully? Or that they’re doing another take where he gets to be himself by swaying wildly again? Is Waititi calling us all fakers drifting mindlessly through a late capitalist hellscape of hollow memetic excess that we desperately crave but never have, and even if we had it, wouldn’t fulfill us?
Things are getting wild over at Twitter since Elon Musk bought the company for $44 billion last month. Everyone is up in arms over new terms of service in regards to verified accounts, let alone how much money you’ll have to pay to maintain your blue checkmarks. Just last night, Doja Cat realized that she can’t change her display name anymore and might be known as Christmas “forever” on the platform. She begged Musk to help her out and he responded, but as of press time, Doja Cat’s display name is still “Christmas.” Well never fear Doja, cause there’s a new sheriff in town: Lil Nas X.
Earlier this afternoon, Lil Nas X appointed himself as the new CEO of Twitter…in a tweet (because how else does one usurp Elon Musk?) “As of today at 5:30pm est. i will be relieving Mr. Musk of all duties and taking position as ceo of Twitter HQ,” Lil Nas X said in a parody post (it’s a parody…you’re supposed to say that or else Elon Musk will kill your account.) But let’s live in this dreamworld that Lil Nas X just created for us. He’s even taken the liberty of laying out some new ground rules and if you don’t abide by them, you won’t have an account anymore. “Only users who agree that i am cute, fun, and petite will be allowed to keep their accounts. effective immediately,” he added.
as of today at 5:30pm est. i will be relieving Mr. Musk of all duties and taking position as ceo of Twitter HQ. only users who agree that i am cute, fun, and petite will be allowed to keep their accounts. effective immediately.
For most of the season, we’ve been in the wilderness when it comes to NFL picks. Entering Week 9, morale was low but, on cue, we rolled to a 4-0-1 record that could’ve been 5-0 if not for an early filing date and the worst line on the Chargers-Falcons tilt. Getting back to principles was perhaps the key, and we’ll aim to do that again in Week 10.
Prior to unveiling this week’s card of five selections, let’s take a glance at the nine-week progress.
Week 8: 4-0-1
2022 Season: 22-22-1
Come get these winners.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-2.5) over Seattle Seahawks
PSA: This game is in Germany and it’s an early kick on Sunday. Seattle had to travel a (very) long way from Arizona to Munich, and the Seahawks are on a four-game winning streak. Some of that is real, and Geno Smith is playing quite well, but Tampa’s passing game should be in for some positive regression in the coming days. The Bucs are also the better defensive team and we’re laying the small number.
Cleveland Browns (+3.5) over Miami Dolphins
This might be the ugliest bet of the week, but if you look under the hood, it makes more sense. Cleveland is coming off a bye and, quietly, the Browns have been very efficient on offense. Nick Chubb might be an alien and, in this matchup, Jacoby Brissett is capable of putting up points on Miami. The Dolphins are brutal against the pass (second-worst in passing DVOA) and the hype is a bit aggressive on Miami.
TEASER: Pittsburgh Steelers (+8) over New Orleans Saints and Denver Broncos (+9) over Tennessee Titans
We love a good Mike Tomlin wizardry spot, and this is one. We’re getting through a couple of key numbers on Pittsburgh, and following the value as a result. Denver is a little less clear-cut, but Tennessee’s offense is not exactly firing on all cylinders, even if Ryan Tannehill ends up returning. Denver is frisky on defense, coming off a bye, and prepared to at least keep this close.
Green Bay Packers (+4.5) over Dallas Cowboys
Green Bay is on a five-game (!) losing streak. That seems unthinkable, but the Packers are truly lost in the sauce. We’re buying the dip as a home underdog, and Dallas seems content to really grind things out with the running game and a fantastic defense. This might be a last stand situation for Green Bay, and the number is a bit too large.
Los Angeles Chargers (+7) over San Francisco 49ers
The Chargers were the only slight blemish on the card last week, but our principles continue to back Los Angeles on the road. It would be helpful if Justin Herbert had some healthy wide receivers, but this is too many points. Los Angeles will need to get a few stops, but we’re betting they can.
For years, rumors of Jennifer Aniston possibly being pregnant have circulated through the media and internet gossip mill. Aniston has called these rumors “nasty” and “hurtful,” but has largely kept quiet about that part of her personal life.
Now, at 53, Aniston is opening up about her efforts to have a baby and countless women are seeing themselves in her fertility journey.
In an interview with Allure magazine, Aniston shared that she spent years during her 30s and 40s trying to get pregnant amid the repeated, swirling rumors that she was.
“It was a challenging road for me, the baby-making road,” she said. “All the years and years and years of speculation…It was really hard. I was going through IVF, drinking Chinese teas, you name it. I was throwing everything at it. I would’ve given anything if someone had said to me, ‘Freeze your eggs. Do yourself a favor.’ You just don’t think it. So here I am today. The ship has sailed.”
However, she said, she has “zero regrets” about where she ended up on that journey. “I actually feel a little relief now because there is no more, ‘Can I? Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.’ I don’t have to think about that anymore.”
Aniston is one of the countless American women who have sought the help of modern medicine, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), to try to have a baby. According to WebMD, 1.9% of babies born in the U.S. since 1981 have been conceived through IVF or other assisted reproductive technologies (ART).
Fertility is an extremely personal topic and people often don’t share their struggles to get pregnant publicly. No one is entitled to anyone else’s story, of course, but the understandable privacy surrounding infertility can result in many people feeling alone in the ups and downs of the journey. Aniston opening up and publicly sharing her difficulties with getting pregnant means a lot to women who have quietly, and often painfully, gone through their own IVF experiences.
u201cKnow Iu2019m far from the only person to be moved by Jennifer Aniston talking about her experience of IVF while the press speculated about whether she did or didnu2019t (or, often, why she didnu2019t) want kids. Useful reminder that you never know whatu2019s going on in someoneu2019s private life.u201d
Fertility specialist Dr. Natalie Crawford thanked Aniston for sharing her story and “normalizing IVF,” writing on Twitter, “All the money & fame can’t guarantee IVF success. It’s a hard road but you are not alone.”
u201cAll the money & fame canu2019t guarantee IVF success. Itu2019s a hard road but you are not alone. nnShe had no obligation to ever share her story but thank you u2066@TheRealJenniferu2069 for normalizing IVF. This means more to so many of us than you know. https://t.co/fyh4N51JgSu201d
Of course, Aniston also had to deal with the tabloid obsession over her relationship status on top of her fertility challenges. She shared that the narrative that she was “just selfish” and only cared about her career only added to the pain of being unable to conceive.
“And God forbid a woman is successful and doesn’t have a child,” she added, describing the judgments that came along with rumors about her. “And the reason my husband left me, why we broke up and ended our marriage, was because I wouldn’t give him a kid. It was absolute lies. I don’t have anything to hide at this point.”
Aniston addressed the constant “baby bump” speculations in a 2016 HuffPost op-ed simply titled “For the Record.” She did not share her personal pregnancy struggles at that time, but rather took the opportunity to share her thoughts on how we as a society view and treat women and girls in general.
“If I am some kind of symbol to some people out there,” she wrote, “then clearly I am an example of the lens through which we, as a society, view our mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, female friends and colleagues. The objectification and scrutiny we put women through is absurd and disturbing.
“I have grown tired of being part of this narrative,” she added. “Yes, I may become a mother some day, and since I’m laying it all out there, if I ever do, I will be the first to let you know. But I’m not in pursuit of motherhood because I feel incomplete in some way, as our celebrity news culture would lead us all to believe. I resent being made to feel ‘less than’ because my body is changing and/or I had a burger for lunch and was photographed from a weird angle and therefore deemed one of two things: ‘pregnant’ or ‘fat.’ Not to mention the painful awkwardness that comes with being congratulated by friends, coworkers and strangers alike on one’s fictional pregnancy (often a dozen times in a single day).”
She was right, of course. Our worth as women is not wrapped up in our relationships or our desire or ability to reproduce. And while she hasn’t owed anyone any explanations about her personal life, Aniston sharing that she had tried to have a baby and ultimately wasn’t able to—and how she has come to a place of peace with that reality now—will comfort and empower many other women who have been through similar experiences.
This week, we learned that Nick Cannon is expecting his 12th child. If you’re counting at home, this would count as Cannon’s fourth baby announcement of 2023. Heck, the third announcement was just last week! This seems par for the course for a guy who said he’s been “f*cking like crazy” as of late. Baby number 12 is with Abby De La Rosa, who is also the mother of their one-and-a-half-year-old twins, Zion and Zillion Cannon.
So now that Nick Cannon is working on filling the bench of his already two whole starting basketball lineups, the internet has got jokes. Because of course. We’ve gathered some of our favorite gags thus far. Beginning with the straightforward cracks, like a user who said, “Nick Cannon gonna build himself a fanbase one way or another,” and someone calling on Joe Biden to “stop Nick Cannon.”
But the #brands are getting in on the fun too (Are you surprised?) European budget airline Ryanair is counting the money they stand to make, “When Nick Cannon books the family holiday to Europe.”
On the latest episode of Fresh Pair, Katty Customs and Just Blaze were joined by Styles P, who was gifted a fire pair of custom Nike SB Dunks that celebrated the Yonkers rapper’s 20-year career in hip-hop. The details on this latest sneaker were dope, including juice drop graphics that paid tribute to Styles’ juice bar side hustle, interchangeable checks, glowing details to reference “Good Times,” as well as references to The Lox, his ghost persona, and of course, his love of weed via a hidden stash pocket at the tongue.
Styles P himself put it best, “these look more than custom made, they look factory. Like you were at the factory!” At one point, he even cradled the pair and let out an ecstatic scream over the design. That’s a pretty strong co-sign!
Details of the sneaker aside, the episode resulted in a half-hour of unheard stories and interesting anecdotes from Styles P’s career and most well-known projects but the conversation was particularly lit when Katty straight up asked him “Do you think you’re the best smoker in the game?”
Styles quickly replied, “Definitely.”
That’s a big claim when you consider just how many superstar rappers are as known for their love of cannabis as they are for their bars (which are usually about smoking weed) like Snoop Dogg, Redman, Kid Cudi, Devin the Dude… the list goes on and on.
But Styles was quick to give flowers to his fellow weed-smoking rappers, including Uncle Snoop, Wiz Khalifa, Method Man, Berner, B-Real, and Redman.
“You know, the whole gang, I respect it, I just always feel I’m the best,” says Styles, which is the right attitude to have in the game of hip-hop and in smoking. That moment hits at the 22-minute mark in the interview, but be sure to watch the whole episode if only for Styles P’s animated reactions as Katty unveils the sneaker’s hidden details.
Deep into this trailer for Scrooge: A Christmas Carol, Bob Cratchit (Johnny Flynn) sings a song whose lyrics seem to consist solely of the phrase “I love Christmas!!” so it’s very, very easy to relate to Scrooge on this one.
Voiced by Luke Evans in this version for Netflix, everything seems like it follows the original Dickens tale to the letter. Scrooge is mean, sees some ghosts, and gets a lesson about changing his crotchety ways before he dies alone and smothered in ectoplasmic chains. Familiarity is comforting! Plus, writer/director Stephen Donnelly and his design crew have come up with some cool looks for the three ghosts. The best is the flame-headed Ghost of Christmas Past (voiced by Olivia Colman), but they’ve even run a little wild with Jacob Marley (voiced by Jonathan Pryce).
And that cast is solid. In fact, Evans’ voice work here should make all red-blooded movie fans want a live-action version where he plays Scrooge, shoving his way past joyful children and being smarmy to other-worldly mentor figures.
In a case of great minds thinking alike, even the other new iteration of the classic tale (Ryan Reynolds’ Spirited) includes musical numbers. Maybe it’s a matter of having to throw the kitchen sink at an old favorite to renew its relevancy. Or maybe people just like singing and dancing. I know what Scrooge would say.
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol hits Netflix December 2nd.
With Halloween behind us, we’ve officially slipped into the Holiday drinks season. Say goodbye to divisive pumpkin spice and hello to refreshingly sweet peppermint, spiced, and cookie-flavored beverages. The winter months are like the Super Bowl for coffee chains, this is the time of year when all the big brands put their best foot forward and offer customers new limited-time flavors by greatly expanding their menus. Unlike springtime or summer, when it’s cold out that means we get new iced drinks and new hot drinks.
Drinking a hot tea latte in the middle of summer is hell. But sipping a sweet warm, and spicy drink during the winter months can be pure bliss.
Collectively, Dunkin’, Starbucks, and Coffee Bean — three of the biggest coffee chains, all with a multi-state presence — have 15 drinks, including Peppermint Mocha, Caramel Brulee Lattes, Macadamia White Chocolate Lattes, and Cookie Butter Cold Brews just to name a few. And while that’s exciting, there is no way all of them are winners. So what’s worth your time and what’s not? We found out by trying each new drink and ranking them in our ultimate holiday drinks ranking. Find out which of these seasonal treats are actually worth your money and which should be reserved for your office frenemies below.
15. Dunkin’ — Peppermint Mocha Signature Latte
Dane Rivera
Tasting Notes:
The combination of minty peppermint and rich chocolate is the flavor of the season but unfortunately for Dunkin’ they’re the worst at it. The peppermint in this drink is way too pronounced, giving off a sort of chemical top note that hovers over some sugary sweet chocolate.
The sweetness of the chocolate doesn’t taste natural in any way; it tastes more like straight sugar than chocolate and that’s a problem.
Dunkin’ offers this drink in both hot or iced form, but we chose the hot since that’s the way Dunkin’ advertises it. In retrospect, I’m not sure that’s the best move considering the additional chocolate drizzle and dusting of hot chocolate powder Dunkin’ finishes this drink with ends up immediately sinking to the bottom, requiring you to constantly stir it between drinks.
The Bottom Line:
If the holiday season has you psyched for peppermint mocha lattes, skip Dunkin’s. It’s the worst.
I promise the other peppermint mocha drinks on this list aren’t bad, but Coffee Bean’s blended Peppermint Mocha is right up there with Dunkin’s Peppermint Mocha Latte. Which is to say, bad. This one has the opposite problem from Dunkin’s, it’s not overly minty to the point of tasting like chemicals — it’s not minty enough.
A rich chocolate flavor dominates this drink with the slightest minty aftertaste. The mint is so faint that if nobody told you this was supposed to be peppermint, you just wouldn’t taste it. There is also something off-putting about a blended mint drink, it’s not the proper form factor to luxuriate in the refreshing characteristics of mint. This just ends up feeling like a major miss.
The Bottom Line:
The flavors never really come together in a way that makes sense. This feels like a drink Coffee Bean makes just because it has all the ingredients on hand. It makes us wonder if anyone working there bothered to taste it before marketing.
Starbucks’ Caramel Brulée Latte is incredibly redundant. There isn’t a lot of difference between this seasonal favorite and Starbucks’ year-round Caramel Latte, it has a slightly more brown-sugar-forward flavor to it, coming across as a touch less sweet and more earthy and dark.
Trust me, that sounds a lot more interesting than it tastes.
All this drink really offers is the crunchy caramel brûlée topping which, when served in a hot drink, gets soggy and loses its crunch. Opting for having it iced doesn’t really solve that problem, either. Sure, the topping stays a bit more crunchy but it stays floating at the top and never travels through your straw — so it’s more decoration than anything functionally drinkable.
The Bottom Line:
If you love Starbucks’ Caramel Latte this might be a fun way to experience the flavor in a slightly different form, but you’ll end up just wishing you stayed with the stock Caramel — it has a better flavor.
The Iced Sugar Cookie Almond Milk Latte doesn’t taste nearly as delicious as its name suggests. The drink combines Starbucks mild blond espresso with sugar cookie flavoring and almond milk and is topped with red and green sprinkles. Again, the sprinkles are entirely decorative here — you’ll get a few through your straw if you stir it in but mostly it just floats there in your drink.
That’s not the main issue, the real problem here seems to be the almond milk. I love almond milk but it dominates the flavor profile here, giving the drink a weird plant-forward flavor that doesn’t pair well with the sugar cookie syrup. It comes across as blunt and lifeless on the palate, like none of the flavors should be together.
The Bottom Line:
It sounds delicious but the flavors never complement each other the way they should. It tastes more like straight almond milk than anything else.
Whether or not you like this drink is going to be entirely dependent on how sweet you like your coffee. Dunkin’s Cookie Butter Cold Brew is so sweet that it might as well not be coffee, you don’t get any of the mellow low acid flavors of cold brew coffee here, it just tastes like a liquified cookie.
The primary flavor here is brown sugar with a buttery lift that tastes a lot like chocolate chip cookies. The drink is topped with cookie butter cold foam, which is creamy, sweet, and delicious but it’s also just more cookie flavor on top of a drink that tastes entirely like cookies. I never thought I’d say this but… it’s too much damn cookie.
The Bottom Line:
If you’ve ever wanted to drink a liquified cookie, order this, you’ll love it. But since it tastes nothing like coffee, we have to rank it low.
Is this ranked too high for plain coffee? Maybe, but Dunkin’s seasonal Holiday Blend is pretty good stuff. The mouthfeel is silky smooth with a flavor that combines smokey and sweet molasses notes with a dark cherry finish. I ordered this coffee black and it had enough natural sweetness to it that I could drink it straight without cream or sugar.
The Bottom Line:
A pretty great-tasting coffee blend. Maybe there isn’t much to it that speaks to the season, but who cares? It tastes great and if you like coffee with or without cream or sugar, this is a great brew.
I’m really confused about Starbucks’ obsession with crumbs. Like the Caramel Brûlée latte, the Chestnut Praline is also topped with spiced praline crumbs, which sound delicious, but again, get pretty soggy in the drink and don’t really add to the flavor at all. This is a purely decorative ingredient, but it’s most often served in a cup with a lid.
What am I missing here? Starbucks’ press image of this drink looks undoubtedly delicious but the drink in real life looks interchangeable with the Caramel Brûlée.
At least the Chestnut Praline offers something a bit different flavor-wise. This drink has a pronounced nutty and buttery flavor which makes Starbucks’ bitter over roasted espresso a lot more palatable.
The Bottom Line:
Smooth, nutty, and buttery (if partially superfluous). A delicious winter-themed addition to Starbucks’ bloated menu.
8. Dunkin’ — Toasted White Chocolate Signature Latte
Dane Rivera
Tasting Notes:
This is hands down Dunkin’s best seasonal addition to the menu. It’s creamy, with a vanilla-heavy rich white chocolate body that is elevated with generous caramel drizzle and a spicy and earthy cinnamon sugar peppering this whipped cream.
It offers the intense sweetness of Dunkin’s Cookie Butter but has a rich coffee finish that isn’t overpowered by the added flavors. It tastes a little cheap in comparison to the white chocolate-based drinks offered by both Starbucks and Coffee Bean but it’s still pretty damn good.
Starbucks’ white chocolate is a bit more complex than what Dunkin’ has to offer. You still get that vanilla-infused flavor, but there are more pronounced natural cocoa notes here, giving this flavor an earthy edge with a toasty finish that makes it come across as more complex on the palate. Starbucks’ decorates this drink with “red sugar sparkles and crispy white pearls,” which is a fancy way of saying…”sugar.”
Does it need extra decoration? Not at all, especially if you’re ordering the drink hot, but I suppose it does make the drink look a bit more festive.
The Bottom Line:
A more complex white chocolate flavor than what Dunkin has to offer, but if you want the best white chocolate holiday drink, go with our next choice.
6. Coffee Bean — Macadamia White Chocolate Ice Blended
Dane Rivera
Tasting Notes:
A delicious mix of sweet velvety white chocolate and nutty macadamia notes. The drink ends with a sweet vanilla finish that is complemented by dark chocolate swirls around the walls of the cup. For the best results, mix your straw in a couple of times and work that sauce into the drink itself.
Coffee Bean says this drink is topped with hazelnut crunch, I didn’t get any of that in mine for some reason but I hardly cared considering how delicious this marriage of flavors was.
The Bottom Line:
Yeah, it’s a blended drink during the coldest months of the year but it’s so damn delicious it’s worth the brain freeze.
This drink is so incredibly smooth and mellow. The peppermint serves as the perfect complement to this blend of Dutch chocolate and buttery coffee. The layer of cream that tops this drink is a nice touch, but it’s a bit too airy to taste quite as luxurious as I think Coffee Bean wants it to come across.
The Bottom Line:
So smooth that Rob Thomas and Santana should write a song about it.
This is an improvement over Coffee Bean’s blended version of this drink. It has that same velvety rich white chocolate and buttery macadamia combo, but this one tastes a lot less like a cookie. Coffee Bean’s espresso is bold and round, with natural notes of chocolate and toasted nuts, and that pairs excellently with the sweeter notes of macadamia and white chocolate.
All of the flavors here are wonderfully complimentary.
The Bottom Line:
Everything the cold blended version of this drink offers, with a more pronounced coffee flavor.
Coffee Bean may have much better espresso than Starbucks, but we have to give the cold brew crown to the ‘Bucks. This Irish Cream Cold Brew is wonderfully luxurious, the sweet cream has a sweet vanilla flavor and a rich and thick consistency that serves as a flavor filter for the coffee to pass through.
Irish cream-flavored syrup provides most of the sweetness, combining chocolate and vanilla flavors that are just begging for a splash of Irish whiskey. In a perfect world, Starbucks would splash some whiskey in this drink for you, but we don’t live in that world so you’ll just have to do it yourself.
The Bottom Line:
A delicious marriage of flavors that comes across as supremely rich and luxurious. The best cold-brew-based holiday drink currently on the market.
Starbucks’ Peppermint Mocha is its flagship winter drink, and for good reason. This is a perfect marriage between rich chocolate notes and cool mint — offering a refreshing lift at the aftertaste. Because Starbucks has to be extra, they topped this drink with “dark chocolate curls” which as you imagine, melt immediately because this is a f*cking hot beverage.
But you know what, I’m not mad at it. The crumbles of the other drinks didn’t melt so much as get soggy, but the dark chocolate actually incorporates itself into the drink, doubling down on the chocolate flavors. There is a reason this is Starbucks’ signature winter drink.
Admittedly, the idea of a tea latte (brewed tea + milk + vanilla) is a lot less exciting than a traditional coffee-based latte, but no other drink screams “winter” quite like Coffee Bean’s Winter Dream Tea Latte. This latte has a shifting flavor that never gets boring, it starts off sweet before moving into spicy territory thanks to a combination of allspice, star anise, cinnamon, black tea, and rooibos, with Coffee Bean’s sweet vanilla powder and just a touch of milk.
Imagine Chai tea without the overwhelming cardamon notes with a more pronounced cinnamon flavor and you’ll be in the ballpark of Winter Dream. There is something so satisfying about this flavor combination, it’s comforting and sweet, with spicy notes that dance on the tongue between sips.
The Bottom Line:
The ultimate winter treat, the Winter Dream Tea latte just tastes like the holiday season feels. It’s Christmas in a cup. With its shifting flavors, there isn’t a single sip of Winter Dream that you won’t enjoy.
The NBA is not especially great at keeping its alternate jerseys under wraps ahead of whenever they are announced. Regardless, on Thursday morning, the league unveiled its full roster of City Edition uniforms, the final group that needed to be announced during the 2022-23 season. Here’s what all of them look like:
The 2022-23 @Nike NBA City Edition collection. Combining the heart and soul of hoops culture.
Some of them are very, very good. Others are flat out bad, while others are just boring. Maybe inoffensive is a nicer word. But the one thing you can certainly say about all of them is that they exist, and today, we are going to highlight the 5-best jerseys that Nike and teams cooked up for the upcoming campaign.
Any time the Pelicans have a chance to do a cool, Mardi Gras-inspire jersey, they should. Really, that extends to any New Orleans team — I am looking at you, Saints.
Regardless, the Pels going with a jersey inspired by the colors of Mardi Gras is nothing new. The concept continues to be very good, and the deep purple base for these makes the green, yellow, and light purple stripes across the chest stand out. There is something to be said for not blowing a layup, which New Orleans did here.
San Antonio hosted the 1996 NBA All-Star Game, which gave us some of the best uniforms in All-Star history. The ones on the right, look at them, they’re great.
Doing something with these will always be a good idea. Doing these specific uniforms: also a good idea. They take the general color scheme, a very unique one, and run with it without just making a complete replica that has SPURS on the front. There’s also a special court for these nights.
AIRPORT JERSEYS. This is going to be the preferred uniform for any sportswriter, in large part because none of the jerseys are inspired by Marriott. These are a really cool concept and I generally like how they were executed — the teal stripe across the front pays homage to the carpet at the Portland airport, while the airport code is PDX. The color scheme — black base, vibrant teal, white/gray letters and accents — really pops, too.
2. Washington
The Washington Wizards’ City Edition unis honor the city’s celebrated cherry blossoms in a pink to blue gradient design. pic.twitter.com/jnUK6bujJn
Generally, Washington’s entire schtick is bad. The Wizards, as a nickname, is very weird since there are no wizards in the nation’s capital. Despite that, the team has a red, white, and blue color scheme. It has never made much sense to me.
What does make a ton of sense to me, however, are their City Edition uniforms, which pay tribute to the iconic cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C. The pink-to-blue gradient looks quite good, and just generally, these do not look like any other uniforms in the NBA. Pink is a color that doesn’t always work when it is the star of the show. These do, though, in a big way.
I might go as far as to say that these are among the best jerseys in American professional sports right now. These are unbelievable. The font, the colors, the little “Peach Tree” on the front of the jerseys, everything is perfect. Even the court that they have for the nights they wear these is sensational.
Their old PEACHTREE jerseys were not my favorites, not by a longshot. These, however, are the best in the NBA this season, City Edition or otherwise.
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