Sabrina’s Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso From Dunkin’ Might Not Do It For You

Amy Bell / Tasting Table

Fans of Sabrina Carpenter and her chart-topping song “Espresso” will likely be intrigued by Dunkin’s newest iced coffee drink: Sabrina’s Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso. After all, with over 1.7 billion streams on Spotify (and counting) as of December 2024, along with chart-topping success in 18 countries, it’s the type of song that tends to get stuck in your head. And since we’ve already seen the release of an espresso-based fragrance thanks to the song, it makes sense that it’s inspired an espresso-based drink from Dunkin’, as well.

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Now, even if you’ve seen the commercial for this limited-time beverage, you might not have a lot of insight into what to expect (aside from it being a shaken drink). Dressed in a dark-fuchsia-colored sequined dress with a furry wrap around her arms, the famous singer shakes an iced espresso drink in a neon-light-decorated Dunkin’ — styled more like a bar lounge than a coffee shop — eventually leading everyone around her to do the same.

Of course, the question is really whether or not the new song-inspired drink will have you running to Dunkin’ to get another round — like listening to a song on repeat. With that in mind, I hit up my local Dunkin’ to find out if I was going to be thinking about this drink every night (as the song suggests I might). Keep reading to learn more about Sabrina’s Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso from Dunkin’, and whether it’s worth a purchase.

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Amy Bell / Tasting Table

If you’re unsure what’s in a drink with the word “espresso” in the name, well … don’t overthink it. Sabrina’s Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso is indeed an espresso-based beverage, so you shouldn’t expect a simple, sweetened shot of espresso here. Furthermore, this is an iced latte-style drink, which a Dunkin’ barista creates and shakes by hand. It comes with oatmilk by default, is supposed to have brown sugar notes, and contains espresso (as expected). In other words, it’s essentially a brown-sugar flavored Iced Dunkin’ Latte that’s shaken, not stirred.

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While oatmilk and brown sugar tend to pair nicely together, we’re not entirely sure why Dunkin’ decided to go with oatmilk here. Then again, we suspect it could be to make the drink more comparable to the Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso from Starbucks, which also contains oatmilk.

Dunkin’ certainly wasn’t trying to disguise any inspiration for its drink with the name. The Starbucks beverage includes brown sugar syrup, too, but uses cinnamon powder as a topping. Though there’s no cinnamon powder on the Dunkin’ version, I did feel like I tasted a bit of cinnamon. Of course, unlike the Dunkin’ iced drink (and perhaps most importantly), the Starbucks beverage doesn’t appear to have any connection to Sabrina Carpenter or her hit song.

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Amy Bell / Tasting Table

Though Sabrina’s Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso became available at Dunkin’ locations nationwide on December 31, 2024, I wasn’t sure whether my local Dunkin’ would have it for sale right away (given it’s a smaller store located inside a Walmart). Thankfully, though, it did — meaning you should be able to find it at both full-sized and smaller Dunkin’ locations while supplies last.

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Of course, as a limited-time drink, this won’t be around forever. More than that, I didn’t notice any signs or menu changes announcing the drink, indicating you had to have seen the ad campaign or caught a glimpse of the drink on social media (or in an article like this) to know about it. As for the price, the cashier informed me she wasn’t sure what the drink would ultimately cost because it wasn’t in the system yet. However, I later found the drink on the Dunkin’ app, priced at $4.88 for a small, $5.38 for a medium, and $5.78 for a large. Keep in mind the exact cost may vary based on location and how you order.

Additionally, the nutritional information for Sabrina’s Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso also varies depending on the size. The item contains between 120 and 230 calories, along with 18 to 37 grams of sugar — though it’s not nearly as nutritionally detrimental as you might expect from such a beverage.

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Amy Bell / Tasting Table

Sabrina’s Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso from Dunkin’ has a very complex flavor profile. Though the syrup has more of a burnt brown sugar essence to it than plain brown sugar, it’s a very fake-tasting flavor (meaning it’s not entirely similar to real brown sugar). It also seems to have a bit of vanilla in it, along with an undercurrent that reminded me of banana flavoring, but not real bananas. After several sips, I started to notice a bit of cinnamon in it, as well, though this was very light.

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Now, the good news is that this iced drink isn’t too sweet, despite being inspired by brown sugar. Unfortunately, while the espresso flavor is very prominent, I found it to be very bitter, with a note akin to tire rubber. In fact, it was so bitter that I could taste and feel it on the back of my tongue long after consuming the drink. I couldn’t even dislodge the bitterness with a couple of jelly-filled Munchkin Donut Hole Treats (a requisite for any trip to Dunkin’).

It wasn’t as smooth as I’d expected from Dunkin’, either, though there’s a chance the bitterness came from the espresso beans being burnt or over-extracted. Additionally, you may notice the flavor of the oatmilk, given the ingredients. While I didn’t notice it as much while drinking the beverage, I did detect a distinctive oatmilk aftertaste developing in my mouth after each sip.

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Amy Bell / Tasting Table

Since I’ve had a few Dunkin’ espresso drinks before and liked them, I have to admit I assumed I’d enjoy this drink. After all, it sounded simple enough. But after this experience, I appreciate the espresso drinks made at local coffee houses all the more for being smooth, and not tasting fake, bitter, or over-extracted like this drink did.

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I hope the barista didn’t see me take my first sip, because my initial reaction to this drink was not a good one (and I probably made a face). I thought Sabrina’s Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso would grow on me, or that it might taste better once the ice melted a little and watered it down. But it never did, and every sip — to the last one — was just as disappointing as the first.

While I’ve seen some people gushing over this newly-released drink, perhaps they simply have different taste preferences than I do (or maybe they had better versions). Regardless, this drink simply didn’t do it for me, and I’m unlikely to be thinking about it every night — despite what the song inspiration suggests. Of course, while it gets a lower rating from me (two out of five stars), feel free to see what you think of Sabrina’s Brown Sugar Shakin’ Espresso yourself, and where you’d rank it next to other Dunkin’ iced coffees.

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