You’ve already sipped your way through Starbucks’s fall menu, including the cult-favorite pumpkin spice latte. Now, it’s *finally* time to turn your sights to the coffee chain’s holiday drinks. Starbucks brought back its most beloved winter drinks on November 2, 2023, as well as a few more bevs and new limited-time potato, cheddar and chive egg bakes on January 3, 2024. The lineup includes four new seasonal bevs we’re eager to taste and two limited-time returning favorites.
The Best Starbucks Holiday Drinks of 2024, Ranked (Plus 4 New Bevs We Can’t Wait to Try)
We hope you like pistachio
In case you’re not sure what to order first, we’ve ranked the best Starbucks holiday drinks to sip on from sweater season through New Year’s—consider it an early Christmas gift. Read on for our faves, plus all the deets on four sippers gracing the menu for the first time.
New Starbucks Holiday Drinks for 2024
16. Iced Shaken Hazelnut Oatmilk Espresso
Newest Menu Item
- Available This Year? Yes
This brand-new wintry delight is joining the menu—for good. A soothing blend of blonde espresso and hazelnut syrup is shaken until combined, then topped with decadent oatmilk for good measure. Dairy who?
15. Iced Merry Mint White Mocha
Rookie of the Year
- Available This Year? Yes
While we're still mourning the loss of the toasted white mocha (RIP), we can't wait to get our hands on this festive new bev. Signature espresso is poured over white chocolate sauce, then topped with milk, ice, peppermint chocolate cream cold foam and chocolate curls. Even if mint isn't really your thing, we're betting the rich, sweet white chocolate sauce curbs its intensity in a way that might convert you.
14. Iced Gingerbread Oatmilk Chai
Most Nostalgic Starbucks Holiday Drink
- Available This Year? Yes
Back in 2000, the gingerbread latte launched and became an annual cornerstone of Starbucks's holiday menu. After a years-long hiatus, this cozy flavor is back in the form of a non-dairy sipper everyone can get behind. It's made with a blend of oatmilk and cinnamony, warm-spiced black tea. The gingerbread flavor is designed to amplify the spices in the chai concentrate for maximum warm-and-fuzzy feels.
13. Oleato Gingerbread Oatmilk Latte
Most Unexpected Starbucks Holiday Drink
- Available This Year? Yes
If you're lucky enough to live near a Starbucks that serves Oleato drinks (aka drinks made with olive oil), you're in luck. Think of this sipper as a hybrid of fresh-out-the-oven gingerbread and olive oil cake. It's made with blonde espresso, steamed oatmilk infused with olive oil and gingerbread syrup. (P.S.: Starbucks Reserve locations will also be serving Oleato Whiskey Barrel-Aged Cold Brew this holiday season.)
Returning and Past Starbucks Holiday Drinks
12. Pistachio Latte
Best Limited-Time Latte
- Available This Year? Yes, for a limited time
Starbucks customers stan this cold-weather gem for a reason. The flavors of sweet, nutty pistachio and the signature brown buttery topping, paired with espresso and steamed milk, basically make this latte a sippable wool sweater. We'll cheers to that.
11. Pistachio Cream Cold Brew
Best Limited-Time Cold Brew
- Available This Year? Yes, for a limited time
If you're one of those coffee drinkers that never orders your morning joe hot, you need to try this silky-sweet cold brew while you can. It's sweetened with vanilla syrup and topped with pistachio cream cold foam and salted brown-buttery sprinkles. Excuse us while we drool.
10. Iced Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte
Best Non-Dairy Starbucks Holiday Drink
- Available This Year? Yes
We *love* a cold coffee in the dead of winter, so props to Starbucks for bringing this iced bev back. This was also the first-ever non-dairy holiday drink to make it on the roster. It's made with sugar cookie-flavored syrup, blonde espresso and creamy almond milk, then topped with red and green cookie sprinkles for good measure. We'll be ordering ours with extra whipped cream and bringing it home to top with crumbled sugar cookies, thank you very much.
9. Irish Cream Cold Brew
Best Starbucks Holiday Drink for Cold Foam Lovers
- Available This Year? No
We'll miss this roasty gem this winter, as it won't be returning to the menu. It used to start with Starbucks's signature silky cold brew and Irish cream syrup, which offers hints of vanilla and chocolate without bogging the bev down with sweetness. It's finished with a layer of vanilla sweet cream cold foam and a dusting of cocoa. (BTW, we wouldn't judge if you took yours home to spike with a shot of Irish whiskey...just sayin'.)
8. Salted Caramel Mocha Latte
Best Starbucks Holiday Flavor for Hot Chocolate Lovers
- Available This Year? If you ask
RIP to this fall gem (it's off the menu, but you can still ask the barista to add mocha and toffee nut or caramel syrups to your drink). There’s nothing wrong with this salty-sweet mashup of mocha sauce, toffee nut syrup, espresso and steamed milk. But if we’re being honest, it’s super sweet, and we’re not always in the mood for a coffee that tastes like liquid dessert. So, this holiday flavor is our go-to whenever we’re really craving a treat, like hot cocoa. That way, we can get our fix without having to sacrifice the buzz of our morning java to an inevitable sugar crash.
7. Santa Claus Frappuccino
Best Secret Menu Holiday Frappuccino
- Available This Year? No
While the Santa Claus Frappuccino was never officially on the Starbucks menu (it's the invention of Totally the Bomb), it went viral in 2020, thanks to its festive appearance and fun flavors. It was just a vanilla bean Frap, which comes coffee-free, dressed up with swirls of strawberry syrup, which is now discontinued.
6. Chestnut Praline Latte
Most Underrated Starbucks Holiday Drink
- Available This Year? Yes
You forgot about this one, huh? You’re not alone—it’s easy to neglect this flavor among so many heavyweights, especially if you never stray from your usual order. But we’re here to make a case for this underappreciated sipper. Steamed milk and espresso meet silky notes of caramelized chestnuts and warm spices for a cozy, sweet bev that won’t knock you over the head with holly-jolly flourishes. While it doesn’t have bright red sugar sprinkles or in-your-face seasonal flavor, it’s a nutty, balanced pick that we think deserves more credit. Come on, it’s topped with spiced praline crumbs. Need we say more?
5. Caramel Brulée Latte
Best Starbucks Holiday Drink for Newbies
- Available This Year? Yes
Even if you’ve never tried a Starbucks holiday drink, we’re pretty damn positive you’d enjoy this one. It stars rich, buttery Caramel Brulée sauce, inspired by crème brûlée’s layer of torched sugar. The pretty topping mimics the crunch of burnt sugar even further. While it has all the sweet, comforting traits of a standard caramel latte, this pick has a spiced, almost smoky nuance to it that we get psyched for every single year.
4. Toasted Caramel Brulée Cold Brew
Best Holiday Flavor Mashup
- Available This Year? No
The Salted Caramel Mocha is a mix of toffee nut and mocha syrups. The Peppermint Mocha is a blend of...well, it's in the name. But this secret menu gem, also created by Totally the Bomb, starred two holiday flavors that we had no idea were soulmates—until we tasted it, that is. The Toasted Caramel Brulée Cold Brew was made with both caramel brulée and toasted white mocha sauces for a collab that was rich with notes of marshmallow, brown butter and burnt sugar. But since the toasted white mocha was discontinued, this beauty is off the table.
3. Toasted White Chocolate Mocha
Best Iced Starbucks Holiday Drink
- Available This Year? No
Imagine the white mocha you sip on year-round, only infused with toasted marshmallow and topped with festive candy pearls and sprinkles. The discontinued sauce had a caramelized white chocolate flavor that we straight-up couldn't get enough of. In fact, we used to add it to our cold brew every chance we got. Both hot and iced, the latte had a super smooth, luxurious mouthfeel and just the right amount of sweetness, thanks to the thick sauce.
2. Pumpkin Spice Latte
Most Iconic Starbucks Holiday Drink
- Available This Year? Yes
The PSL is that b**** for a reason. Coffee drinkers dream of the pumpkin syrup months ahead of fall. Bursting with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, the PSL is as autumnal as coffee can get—and even if you’re not totally obsessed with it, you’ll be hard-pressed to find something flat-out wrong with it. (We’ve also grown loyal to the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, sweetened with vanilla syrup and topped with pumpkin cream cold foam.) Try your hand at making one at home.
1. Peppermint Mocha
Best Starbucks Holiday Frappuccino
- Available This Year? Yes
Consider this a cup of liquid holiday bark. Decadent mocha sauce meets cool peppermint syrup, roasty espresso and steamed milk for a festive mashup that stands the test of time. Like the Salted Caramel Mocha, the Peppermint Mocha is a bit of a sugar bomb because it’s made with more than one flavor syrup. That’s why we enjoy this enduring combination most in a Frappuccino; the blended ice and milk help dilute the sweetness. But don’t get us wrong: Just because it’s sweet doesn’t mean we’re skipping the whipped cream or the dark chocolate curls.