The holidays are officially here in Gloucester! Commercials have already started and stores are putting out holiday merchandise, but one of the biggest symbols of the holiday season is drinks. Officially out on November 2 and November 3, both Dunkin’ and Starbucks have just released their holiday specialty drinks. These drinks are a perfect way to ease yourself into the season

In celebration of its 25th year of holiday cups, Starbucks released 13 specialty drinks and several new snacks. In addition to its traditional holiday menu, Starbucks added new drinks, such as the Chestnut Praline Latte and Caramel Brulee Latte. For new snacks, they added the Chocolate Pistachio Swirl and the Sugar Plum Cheese Danish.

Dunkin’ has also added new drinks to its holiday menu. In addition to their normal menu, they’ve added the Cookie Butter Cold Brew, a cold brew drink with cookie butter cold foam and a brown sugar swirl. Some of their returning items include the Peppermint Mocha Latte, Toasted White Chocolate Latte, and their signature Holiday Blend Coffee.

After asking around GHS, a common favorite among numerous students is the Starbucks Sugar Cookie Almond Milk Latte. This drink can come iced or hot and tastes just like freshly baked sugar cookies. Depending on your preference for hot or iced drinks, it comes with whipped cream and small red and green sprinkles.  Another popular item in the student body is Dunkin’s Peppermint Mocha Latte. Just like the Sugar Cookie Latte, it comes either iced or hot with the choice of whipped cream and sprinkles. How fun!

As the holiday season approaches, more and more stores are coming out with themed desserts and drinks, available at all of Gloucester’s many Dunkins and lone Starbucks.