REVIEW: Dunkin’ Sabrina’s Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso

Dunkin’ is bringing some exciting espresso energy into the new year. On December 31st, it announced the limited time “Sabrina’s Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso” beverage in partnership with pop singer Sabrina Carpenter.

If you don’t know who that is, her hit song “Espresso” single-handedly helped Americans pronounce espresso correctly. Hint: it’s not ex-presso!

Because Starbucks popularized the iced shaken espresso, I had to compare the OG (Starbucks’ Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso) to this Dunkin’ offering.

Starting with beverage build: While the beverage may seem simple – espresso, brown sugar, and oatmilk – there are differences in how each is made.

First, the espresso itself: Dunkin’ uses what it calls “bold espresso,” which I assume is a standard dark roast. Starbucks uses blonde espresso, a lighter roast with a higher caffeine content. Second, the brown sugar: Dunkin’ calls it “brown sugar notes,” whereas Starbucks specifies “brown sugar and cinnamon together.” Lastly, I will quickly note that both list “oatmilk,” but spoiler alert: this ingredient makes a huge difference in taste.

Now, onto the actual beverage experience and taste test: The first thing I noticed was size (insert one of Sabrina Carpenter’s dirty jokes here, as she often makes them). I usually don’t order Dunkin’ and Starbucks simultaneously, but the value comparison was striking when compared side-by-side. A small iced at Dunkin’ is 16 ounces, whereas a small at Starbucks is 12 ounces. The latter is 15% more expensive and 4oz less! +1 to Dunkin’.

However, I’d rather have less of a good thing than more of a “just okay” thing. Flavor-wise, Starbucks’ version just tasted better. It had more depth – the brown sugar tasted less corn syrup-like and more deep and developed with the cinnamon as the final note.

Dunkin’s version, on the other hand, started strong. It was more espresso-forward, but I couldn’t get over the aftertaste. It wasn’t overpowering but faintly artificial and what I can only describe as “eggy” or yolk-like tasting, which I attributed to the oatmilk. Dunkin’ typically uses Planet Oat oatmilk, while Starbucks uses Oatly.

Ultimately, Dunkin’s drink reminded me more of a “regular” Starbucks Iced Shaken Espresso—not quite delivering on the promise of a Brown Sugar Oatmilk Espresso.

Sabrina made me do it, but I’m sticking to Starbucks for this shaken espresso rendition!

Purchased Price: $4.89
Size: Small (16 oz)
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 120 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 70 milligrams of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 18 grams of sugar (including 18 grams of added sugar), and 1 gram of protein.

SPOTTED: 1/10/2025

Here are some interesting new products found on store shelves by your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of them, share your thoughts in the comments.

Cheerios Oat Crunch Chocolate Cereal

(Spotted by Dorothy at Walmart.)

Lucky Charms 25% Less Sugar

I’ve been told by General Mills that this is available at a few select Walmart stores. (Spotted by Robbie at Walmart.)

Fancy Unicorn Baking Confetti

(Spotted by Robbie at Walmart.)

Kellogg’s Froot Loops Go Packs
Kellogg’s Corn Pops Go Packs
Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes Go Packs

(Spotted by Robbie at Walmart.)

Welch’s Zero Sugar Strawberry
Welch’s Zero Sugar Tropical Punch

(Spotted by Van at Food Lion.)

Market Pantry Cherry Citrus Slush Sparkling Water

(Spotted by Jarred at Target.)

Quiktrip Johnsonville Cheddar Beer Brat
Quiktrip Loaded Potato Taquito

(Spotted by Robbie at QuikTrip.)

Nuts For Cheese Artichoke & Jalapeno Creamy Cashew Dip

(Spotted by Sarah R at Sprouts.)

Big Bend Snack Co Salt & Vinegar Cashews

(Spotted by Robbie at Central Market.)

Braga Farms Honey Mustard Chopped Salad Kit

(Spotted by Sarah R at Sprouts.)

If you’re out shopping and see new products, snap a picture of them, and send them in via an email (theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com) with where you found them and “Spotted” in the subject line. Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if they’re new, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

SPOTTED: Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels BBQ Seasoned Pretzel Twists

Dot's Homestyle Pretzels BBQ Seasoned Pretzel Twists.

How about Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels Sour Cream & Onion? (Spotted by Prentice at Target.)

If you’re out shopping and see new products, snap a picture of them, and send them in via an email (theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com) with where you found them and “Spotted” in the subject line. Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if they’re new, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

REVIEW: Baskin-Robbins Cinnamon Roll Ice Cream

Cinnabon is the Febreeze of a shopping mall. When you are within the aroma radius of a Cinnabon, all the other smells are enveloped by the enticing lure of cinnamon, cream cheese, and dough. While the Eau de Cinnabon is strong, the flavors of one of its famous cinnamon rolls are even stronger. However, that bold taste is not what you get with Baskin-Robbins’ Flavor of the Month Cinnamon Roll Ice Cream, which features cinnamon roll ice cream, dough pieces, and cinnamon cream cheese swirls.

The cinnamon roll base has a mild cinnamon flavor with a little something else that makes it taste a little bit different than a straight-up cinnamon-flavored ice cream. While the actual baked good has a bold flavor from the spice, it doesn’t hit the taste buds as hard here. With that said, it doesn’t lack flavor or anything like that, but again, it’s just that I wish the warm spice punch was more potent. Not even the cinnamon cream cheese swirls did anything to amp things up.

As for the cream cheese, the same thing I’ve written about the cinnamon level in this scoop above can be written about the cream cheese taste. While it’s definitely noticeable and gives the ice cream scoop a pleasant tanginess, it’s as slight as the spice.

As for the dough pieces, they don’t seem to add any cinnamon or cream cheese taste. They’re just there to provide a texture similar to the cookie dough pieces you’d find in any chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. As someone who loves those chewy pieces whenever they show up in ice cream, I have no complaints about their texture, but I wish they added something to help enhance the flavor.

I know I sound down about Baskin-Robbins Cinnamon Roll Ice cream, but I definitely did enjoy it. Again, I just wish the cinnamon and cream cheese notes were stronger instead of tasting closer to what I imagine eating the cinnamon and cream cheese-saturated air inside a Cinnabon location is like.

Purchased Price: $4.39
Size: Single Scoop
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2.5 scoop) 180 calories, 9 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 90 milligrams of sodium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 19 grams of sugar (including 16 grams of added sugar), and 3 grams of protein.

SPOTTED: Flipz Blueberry Donut Pretzels

Flipz Blueberry Donut Pretzels.

After seeing this, I wondered if there have been strawberry Flipz. I totally forgot about the Strawberry Shortcake that came out two years ago. Then there were Strawberry and Strawberry Cheesecake flavors. (Spotted by Amanda Y at 7-Eleven.)

If you’re out shopping and see new products, snap a picture of them, and send them in via an email (theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com) with where you found them and “Spotted” in the subject line. Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if they’re new, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.