Nothing gets you in the holiday spirit like a drink from Starbucks! Starbucks released this year’s holiday drinks on Nov. 3 and will continue to serve them through the end of December and possibly into the beginning of January.

This season’s drinks include: peppermint mocha, Irish cream cold brew, iced sugar cookie almond milk latte, caramel brulée latte, toasted white chocolate mocha and the chestnut praline latte. Some staff members ventured out to Starbucks to try each of these special holiday drinks!

The first drink we tried was the peppermint mocha, but we decided to turn it into a frappuccino, which customers can do to most drinks on the menu. Overall, the drink was very tasty, but the peppermint flavor was far too prominent. Customers hoping for a faint pop of chocolate might find the peppermint too overpowering, but if you’re a big fan of mint, we highly recommend this drink for you!

The group had very mixed opinions about the chestnut praline latte. When it originally hit my mouth I loved it, but the aftertaste was very nutty. Obviously we know the drink contains chestnuts, but mixed with pralines, which usually combines almonds with sugar and cream, it was almost unbearable. While the first burst of flavor is very pleasant, the aftertaste – not so much.

Next, we tried the toasted white chocolate mocha, which we also turned into a frappuccino. This drink was a crowd favorite, as the flavor was subtle but still present. It wasn’t too sweet nor was it bitter. The toasted part of this drink is said to come from caramelized white chocolate and the flavors blended perfectly, we would definitely get this drink again!

All of you cold brew lovers will adore this next drink: the Irish cream cold brew was awesome! Irish cream is sweet and milky. It’s heavy on vanilla and has hints of chocolate and nuttiness as well. Since it’s made with dairy, it’s generally thick, creamy, and rich. While my group members did not enjoy this drink, I sure did. I’m already a huge lover of coffee, so I appreciated how prominent the coffee flavor was in this drink. I also enjoyed the topping of cold foam, which is made from frothed nonfat milk. You can ask for cold foam on any drink, but it blended perfectly into this one making it a perfect match!

The next drink we tasted was the iced sugar cookie almond milk latte, another crowd favorite. While the sugar cookie flavor wasn’t too strong, the drink was still very sweet. I liked how all of the flavors clashed, but I think the drink would be better with a different type of milk. The dash of sprinkles on the top of the drink were also a cute touch!

The last drink we tried was the caramel brulée latte. This is a hot drink, which I don’t typically go for, but it was delicious! We felt it was very appropriate to keep this drink a hot one as the dessert form of this drink is literally by burning the top. My only critique was the lack of caramel flavor. It didn’t have much of a kick to it, which I was really hoping for. The brulée certainly took over and canceled out the other flavors.

Overall, all of these drinks were very enjoyable and we had a blast trying them. If you find yourself at Starbucks this holiday season, be sure to give these drinks a try. They’re only available for a limited time, get them while they last!