On the cusp of summer, Dunkin’ has brought back its popular pistachio swirl, this time featured in the Pistachio Signature Latte. Available hot or iced, the drink combines espresso and milk with a sweet pistachio flavored swirl and is topped with whipped cream, caramel drizzle, and waffle cone pieces.
I don’t know about you, but when I think of summer flavors, pistachio doesn’t exactly spring to mind. Then again, I’m not sure I want watermelon in my coffee (a quick search tells me that watermelon coffee is actually a thing – shows what I know!). What does come to mind is ice cream, and perhaps this is where everything comes together.
I recently had a delicious pistachio gelato that actually tasted like pistachios, but I’ve enjoyed pistachio ice cream plenty of times, and my general expectation for it is that it will be tinted green but otherwise mostly just taste like ice cream. Considering this, it didn’t surprise me when my first thought after sipping the iced version of the Pistachio Signature Latte was “this tastes like ice cream.” Since I’d put a straw in the drink and not encountered any waffle cone pieces yet, I don’t think I can chalk that up to being influenced by cone bits. There’s a rich, creamy sweetness that I associate with ice cream, but there isn’t much in the way of real pistachio flavor. It makes sense to me that it leans more into the pistachio ice cream realm because of Dunkin’s association with Baskin-Robbins and the fact that Dunkin’ is typically a bit more mainstream and doesn’t try to step too far into the gourmet zone. The chain has chosen to top this drink with waffle cone pieces instead of chopped pistachios, which I think tells us where their heads were at.
Speaking of those pieces, they are a great addition. They provide a fun, toasty-sugary crunch that I didn’t expect would make such a difference in how much I enjoy this drink. Should you opt for the iced version and don’t take a million years to drink it, they’ll probably stay sitting atop the whipped cream and remain somewhat crunchy. If you get the hot version, they’ll sink into the drink and take on a texture like slightly sogged cereal pieces. I’m aware how unappetizing that sounds when we’re talking about something we’re drinking, but for whatever reason, it works here, and I couldn’t stop sipping on this. It’s definitely more of a treat than a morning coffee, but it still managed to strike the right balance of sweetness without being overpowering.
If I’m reaching, and knowing it’s supposed to be pistachio flavored, I could say that it has some nutty notes, but if this were a blind taste test, I would never have guessed this is pistachio flavored. What it is is a very tasty drink, and in the spirit of summer, Dunkin’ should call it what it is: the Pistachio Ice Cream Signature Latte.
Purchased Price: $5.64 (Small Iced), $5.42 (Small Hot)
Size: Small
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Iced), 8 out of 10 (Hot)
Nutrition Facts: (Small Iced) 310 calories, 11 grams of total fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 150 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of total carbs, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 38 grams of total sugar, and 8 grams of protein.