Shake Shack just dropped new Trolls Band Together-themed shakes! Sorry — I tried to be excited about the Trolls part but… I can’t say I am. I’m not nine. Or six. Or whatever age Trolls is for. Also, I don’t know much about the Trolls cinematic universe (are we calling it that?).
Sadly (for me), I do know some things. That’s just how culture moves these days. You wake up one morning glad to know absolutely nothing about a franchise and then somehow that franchise creeps into your consciousness with a combination of advertising, celebrity alignment, and brand tie-ins before you hit the sheets that night. Here’s the sum of my Trolls knowledge, without using Google:
- Somehow there is not one, but three Trolls movies.
- Justin Timberlake is involved.
- There’s a Trolls soundtrack that is quite successful. So I suppose that these trolls sing. Or are sung to.
- Oh and also these all descend from an 80s-era toy with hair you could style and wow what a change of fortunes that toy has had, huh?
While I’m no Trolls expert, I do know fast food milkshakes. So when Shake Shack announced it was launching three new holiday milkshakes, I was pumped — IP be damned!
That said, I was significantly less pumped that I’d have to say to a living person, “Can I please get Poppy’s Sugar Cookie Shake,” or “One Branch’s Chocolate Peppermint Shake, please.” So I ordered from the app, instead. With all three shakes in hand, I set out to review them and rank them from least essential to the one you need to order ASAP.
Viva’s Cinnamon Roll Shake
Thoughts and Tasting Notes:
Sorry to Viva but I’m going to declare this one the least essential of the three new shakes. Viva’s Cinnamon Roll Shake features a cinnamon roll-flavored custard base mixed with glittering gold frosting and topped with whipped cream and gold confetti.
The flavor is very similar to a cinnamon roll’s icing, it’s milky and vanilla-forward but, sadly, I’m not tasting very much of the cinnamon. I think an easy opportunity to get more cinnamon here would’ve been to dust the shake with real cinnamon rather than gold frosting. Compared to the other three shakes, this one also lacks texture.
It’s not bad by any means… but it feels way less inventive than the other two.
The Bottom Line:
A lack of cinnamon and a textural element hold this shake back from what it could’ve been.
Branch’s Chocolate Peppermint Shake
Thoughts and Tasting Notes:
This shake didn’t need a Troll’s tie-in to sell — it would be a winner regardless of the branding. Branch’s Chocolate Peppermint Shake is a holiday classic — it is a mix of vanilla and chocolate custard mixed with mint fudge and topped with whipped cream and crunchy peppermint sugar shards.
Each sip is a mix of heavy chocolate and mint notes, with the slightest hint of vanilla that keeps it from becoming too rich. The peppermint candies will likely never find their way up your straw but if you’re the type that likes to dip your straw in, mix, and scoop, they add a nice textural element to the experience.
Overall It has a cool and refreshing quality to it, while simultaneously being warm and comforting. The jump-up in quality and flavor from the previous shake is huge.
The Bottom Line:
Even though this isn’t our number one choice, this is a must-order if you like the chocolate peppermint flavor profile. It’s textural, rich, sweet, and satisfying.
Poppy’s Sugar Cookie Shake
Thoughts and Tasting Notes:
Poppy is that girl! Based on the look and description, I was certain this would be my least favorite shake of the three. Poppy’s Sugar Cookie shake consists of a sugar cookie flavored custard mixed with cookie dough candy topped with whipped cream and cotton candy. It sounds objectively like the sweetest thing you’ll ever taste in your life.
And don’t get me wrong it is sweet. But this flavor just works.
Imagine the flavor of the best sugar cookie you’ve ever had coming up a straw with every sip. The flavor is a mix of sweet and creamy butter and vanilla with the occasional burst of cookie dough flavor. As you drink the shake the cotton candy will start to melt adding another dimension of sweetness to the mix, or you can just pull some pieces off the top and eat it on the side. I did this once and I prefer the cotton candy to melt into the shake — but you do you!
The Bottom Line:
Don’t let the candy-colored look of this shake dissuade you, this sugar cookie shake hands-down Shake Shack’s best holiday shake. It’s super sweet and indulgent but in all the best ways.
Find your nearest Shake Shack here.
