Last year McDonald’s launched the Grimace Shake and things got real weird real fast. If you somehow missed it, consider yourself lucky, as the milkshake inspired thousands of viral videos of… well, it’s tough to explain, but essentially people threw up purple goo all over themselves while becoming possessed by the spirit of Grimace (how else would you describe the plot?).
Because of its virality, it undoubtedly moved a whole bunch of Grimace milkshakes and earned boatloads of free publicity. McDonald’s was surely happy about all the Grimace shakes it was moving (though perhaps disturbed as to why). And, as a reaction or response to all of this, they are now releasing the… Grandma McFlurry?
By invoking everyone’s Grandma, McDonald’s might be assuming the people of the internet can’t possibly make this one weird — note: never assume anything about the people of the internet — as it is probably the most wholesome snack the brand has ever launched. According to McDonald’s, the McFlurry is “inspired by Grandma’s favorite treat that she hid in her purse,” and features a mix of vanilla soft serve, flavored syrup, and chopped crunch candy pieces.
We picked up a Grandma McFlurry to see if it’s any good, here are our thoughts.
Grandma McFlurry Taste Test
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Right off the bat, the Grandma McFlurry isn’t looking quite as appetizing as the press photos would suggest. But, that tends to be the case with all fast food, so we won’t hold that against it. Flavorwise, I’m struck by how good this thing is.
The flavor is simple and familiar, it’s not something you haven’t tasted before — it’s vanilla ice cream with a generous amount of sweet butterscotch syrup mixed in with crunchy butterscotch-flavored candies. The bits of candy give it a nice textural element, they’re easy to crunch through and explode with an extra dose of sweetness once you bite through them.
The candy mimics Werther’s Original in flavor, it’s an equal mix of brown sugar and caramel, but the texture is different. It’s much softer and has a cookie-like texture rather than tasting like bits of hard candy. Altogether, I think this is a solid addition to McDonald’s dessert menu. It’s significantly more tasty than the Grimace shake, but also safer.
It’s a real people pleaser, is my point. It won’t blow your mind but if you love butterscotch (or grandmas), you’ll love this.
The Bottom Line:
A delicious though not entirely essential remix of the typical McFlurry. For the love of all that is good in the world, people of the internet, let’s keep this one wholesome.
