Shortbread Lattes from Starbucks

Last week, the Starbucks stores in my neighborhood rolled out their holiday drinks – namely the gingerbread (yum!), peppermint mocha and eggnog lattes. I noticed that several stores had special announcements of another drink: a shortbread latte. The drink wasn’t on the regular menu board, but merely written up on the chalkboard with the rest of the specials. My first thought was that it was a concoction that some creative baristas came up with, but as I saw it listed at more and more stores, I realized that it was a new, up-and-coming holiday drink. My barista confirmed my suspicions and was more than happy to make me up a sample.

The drink is made like a typical latte – espresso and steamed milk - but enhanced with a shortbread syrup and topped with whipped cream and shortbread cookie crumbs. I was completely surprised that I liked the drink, given that “shortbread” usually makes me think of butter and the idea of a butter-flavored drink (my initial expectation) was not particularly appealing. The drink actually tastes much better than it sounds, subtle and buttery with a cookie aftertaste. The shortbread crumbs are delicious and a very unusual touch. I’m never one to get whipped cream, but I’m glad I tried the full drink for the shortbread crumb effect.

No idea if – or when – Starbucks will put this drink out into a wider release, but if it’s available in your area and you’re a fan of shortbread (or even just of cookies in general), it’s definitely worth a try!