On April 29, Dunkin’ introduced its new seasonal summer drinks, offering a variety of items, from fruit-punch-flavored donuts to its new take on the viral dirty soda trend.
They started offering new blended drinks such as coffee chillers in honor of the warmer weather, as well as tart, fruity drinks like the Cherry Lime Ricky Refresher.
Dunkin Dirty Soda: 3/10
This drink is composed of classic iced Pepsi along with a splash of coffee and a creamy cold foam. Though dirty sodas typically taste like elevated versions of their base, the Dunkin Dirty Soda had a very strong coffee taste. The flavor was mind-boggling with its unusual combination of carbonation and coffee flavors. At first, the drink was quite enjoyable as it was an unexpected mix of senses, but as time passed, the drink became unbearable and overwhelming. Additionally, the drink was advertised with cold foam on the top, but the actual drink did not have cold foam and was not visually appealing at all.
Fruit Punch Munchkins Donut Hole Treats: 5/10
This item consists of Dunkin’s classic old-fashioned blueberry Munchkins with a thick coating of hard sugar crystals. The donut holes’ presentations differed from the various pictures used to advertise them, as the colors were dull and the coating was patchy. Nonetheless, they were definitely unique. In terms of taste, they were not very special except for the added sweetness from the sugar. The crunchy outer shell with the soft, pillow-like munchkin made the donut holes texturally appealing, but the texture could not make up for the sickening sweetness of the donut holes.
Oreo Coffee Chiller: 6/10
The Oreo Coffee Chiller is a blended iced coffee with a plethora of Oreo syrups, sauces and chunks. This drink was a sugar crash in cup form, with little to no taste of coffee and an overpowering Oreo aftertaste. Though the drink was slightly enjoyable, it was definitely more of a dessert than a morning coffee. The chunks of Oreo made the drink more filling and added an element of surprise to the very generic Oreo blended coffee. Overall, despite the unnecessary sweetness, the combination of textures and the Oreo flavor of the drink made it tasty, just not ideal for a morning coffee.
Cherry Lime Ricky Refresher: 6/10
This drink is made up of the concentrated black cherry added to the classic Dunkin’ limeade, branded as a “refreshing drink.” This drink was far from refreshing, as it mimicked the taste of a melted cherry popsicle with the slightest taste of lime. The flavor of the drink was more cherry-heavy than lime-heavy, which was not disappointing, but the sheer concentration of syrup within the drink was what made it sickening. When watered down from the ice, the drink was significantly more tolerable, but originally it was simply too sweet to truly enjoy.
