Review: Burger King's New Frozen Cotton Candy Drink Is (Thankfully) Not What We Expected
As the winter weather lightens up, so do the drink offerings that surround us. In keeping with the airy vibes of spring, Burger King has debuted a limited-time Frozen Cotton Candy beverage it notes will “cool off” taste buds for spring.
In a press release, Burger King describes the new beverage as having a “balance of blue raspberry and cotton candy flavor.” A medium-size Frozen Cotton Candy costs $2.39 in Chicago, and there’s a $1 upcharge for the cold foam topper the burger chain suggests adding to the drink, which would make it a Frozen Cotton Candy Cloud.
The chain’s spring release is an obvious departure from the Frozen Fanta Kickin’ Mango beverage it released last year. The frozen mango beverage contained mango and a spicy chili flavor meant to complement the release of the brand’s Fiery Nuggets. However, the new Frozen Cotton Candy drink stands alone.
As with most frozen, slushy-like beverages, a lot of the flavor (aka the syrup) settles at the bottom, so it takes some stirring around to evenly distribute the flavor into the ice. But once you’ve done that, the consistency and sweetness of the blue beverage are similar to what you’d expect at a movie theater.
Call me crazy, but this drink brings back a very specific memory. As a child, I used to get ear infections pretty often (no idea why). The only upside to that terrible pain in my ear was the medicine the doctor would prescribe. This bright pink, thick liquid was the highlight of my chronic ear infections but was bubblegum flavored.
Obviously, Burger King’s intention is to evoke candy floss on a stick flavor, and the bright blue color doesn’t exactly scream bubblegum, but somehow I can’t shake that taste. I’ve never been a big fan of cotton candy to begin with, so to find that this frozen drink tastes of something else is actually a pleasant surprise. Although the drink doesn’t hit the intended mark, it’s still delightful and worth ordering again.
The Frozen Cotton Candy’s sibling drink, the Frozen Cotton Candy Cloud, tastes exactly the same but comes with the aforementioned topper, which BK describes as a “cold foam cloud.” The cloud tastes like straight-up whipped cream, so if you’re looking for more of a dessert experience, then, by all means, eat that upcharge. Otherwise, the Frozen Cotton Candy is just as tasty without the cloud topping.
