As a great lover of Starbucks and a lifelong fan of butterscotch Dum-Dums, I knew I had to try the new Smoked Butterscotch Latte as soon as I saw it was coming to stores. I was traumatized into waking up early this morning (I discovered a bug in my sink during a 6 a.m. bathroom run), so I was exhausted on my way to work—the perfect excuse for buying fancy coffee. I headed straight to Sbux from the train to order what some have called the “butterbeer” of lattes.
Here is my cup (note the “SBL” acronym), hanging out at the Her Campus national office:
While the latte was delicious, it didn’t really evoke butterbeer for me (I imagine butterbeer wouldn’t have coffee in it). It reminded me of the Caramel Brulee Latte, which Starbucks releases around Christmas time every year, and which has a similar melted-sugar taste. I did taste the smoky/buttery difference in this latte, especially when I got to the concentrated syrup at the bottom of the cup. It’s that flavor that makes the drink taste like butterscotch instead of just plain caramel.
The Smoked Butterscotch may be way too sweet for some—A tall has 32 grams of sugar, as opposed to 27 grams in my beloved vanilla latte, and just 13 grams in a regular latte. But it’s definitely tasty, and if you get in the right frame of mind before you order, it might even make you feel like you’re drinking coffee at Hogwarts instead of regular muggle college.