Update: Starbucks just saved you from your post-holiday season blues by bringing back the Smoked Butterscotch Latte. The returning beverage is made with espresso, steamed milk, and smoked butterscotch sauce and is completed with a sprinkling of smoky butterscotch topping. The result is a coffee drink that conjures comparisons to Butterbeer.
If you're the type that drinks iced coffee all year round, you too can make the first gloomy month of the year more enjoyable with the Smoked Butterscotch Latte by ordering it iced or as a Frappuccino. With this comeback plus the recent introduction of three brand new non-dairy drinks and the rollout of new Valentine's Day merch, Starbucks has our Janurary doldrums taken care of.
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This story was originally published on January 16, 2018.
Those who frequent forums devoted to exploring all the so-called "secret" menu items at Starbucks are certainly all too familiar with the Harry Potter-inspired Butterbeer Latte. As tempted as we have been by the idea of drinking a beverage close to the boy wizard's go-to Three Broomsticks order, we haven’t actually tried this Butterbeer Latte simply because we don’t want to be too much of a bother to our baristas. Now, however, we won’t have to worry about that because the drink is coming back to Starbucks’ official menu.
To get your hands on the Butterbeer-coffee hybrid, you’ll want to ask your barista for what the chain is calling the Smoked Butterscotch Latte or the SBL. This latte is actually quite a bit less complicated than those make-shift Butterbeer Latte recipes that have been circulating the web for years. Plus, there are official instructions for how to make them so you won't have to feel guilty about troubling your barista with a complex, made up order.
The beverage is made with espresso, steamed milk, and smoked butterscotch sauce. Like with any and all Starbucks drinks that include espresso, you can now order this one with the Signature Espresso or the new lighter Blonde Espresso. We’re pretty sure Harry isn’t an espresso drinker, so he might prefer his latte made with the latter. The drink is finished with bits of smoky butterscotch topping.
As if it weren't enough that we get to try one new version of Butterbeer, the drink can be ordered in three different forms. It comes as a classic hot latte, over ice, and blended like a Frappuccino — we know you've seen those fan-concocted Butterbeer Frappuccino recipes too. That's three new takes on butterbeer to join butterbeer doughnuts, butterbeer marshmallows, butterbeer ice cream, and butterbeer M&M's.
Starting today, the Smoked Butterscotch Latte, in all its forms, will be available in participating Starbucks locations nationwide for a limited time, while supplies last. Since they won't be around forever, customers better cast a SBL summoning charm sooner rather than later.