White chocolate peppermint bark is one thing that I’ve all the time related to the vacation season, however white hazelnut bark I’d by no means heard of earlier than — and need to attempt as quickly as attainable, now that I’ve been made conscious of its existence. Till I’m in a position to observe some down, although, I determine the subsequent neatest thing is to pattern it in beverage kind through Dunkin’s new White Hazelnut Bark Espresso, a part of its hotly anticipated new winter 2024 menu. (Or, due to the season, ought to I say coldly anticipated? … Okay, superb, that was an terrible pun. Please don’t pelt me with snowballs.)
In keeping with Dunkin’s newest press launch, this new taste is impressed by an earlier (and nonetheless out there) seasonal providing, the Toasted White Chocolate Swirl. I dug slightly deeper, looking up Dunkin’s prolonged Allergen and Ingredient Desk on-line, and famous that along with that swirl, this espresso additionally contains cream and “hazelnut taste.” It’s out there each scorching and iced; I typically get pleasure from, and certainly will ultimately attempt, each, however opted for iced for this evaluate as I believe that format is extra conducive to clear, distinct flavors, versus scorching drinks the place they’re extra prone to muddle collectively or be overshadowed by the tongue-tingling temperature.
I anticipated this to be a extra white-chocolate-forward drink with hints of hazelnut, however I had the other expertise: the primary taste that got here by was distinctly nutty. Don’t get me flawed, this espresso is actually candy and creamy too, however so are sugar and cream, so I wasn’t certain which a part of that profile screamed “white chocolate” particularly. And whereas I completely love white chocolate, even I need to admit that it’s not essentially the most distinctive beverage taste, so it is smart that the hazelnut element can be extra dominant.
A standard grievance about these dessert-based restricted version flavors is that they’re too candy. Did I discover that to be the case right here? No… however I used to be additionally content material with the sugar stage of the Ice Spice Munchkin Drink (which was, in a phrase, ludicrous), so possibly take my opinion with a grain of salt… or a grain of sugar… or a number of tablespoons of sugar…
In any case, I loved the White Hazelnut Bark Espresso. I simply can’t say it was essentially the most distinctive expertise. Regrettably, I can also’t say I desire it to its predecessor, the Toasted White Chocolate Signature Latte. I’ve to reiterate that it was a yummy pick-me-up that tasted precisely the way it was speculated to. But it surely was just a bit underwhelming — and I can’t in good conscience give a better rating to a product whose most memorable high quality was instructing me a few totally different product I’d quite devour.
Talking of, now that I’m sufficiently caffeinated, it’s time to seek out some correct white hazelnut bark!
Bought Value: $3.91
Measurement: Small
Score: 7 out of 10
Vitamin Information: 170 energy, 6 grams of fats, 20 milligrams of ldl cholesterol, 65 milligrams of sodium, 26 grams of whole carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 25 grams of sugar, and a pair of grams of protein.
