I went to Wendy’s on Sunday in hopes of having one last orange Dreamsicle Frosty. In my many years (two) of reporting on Wendy’s seasonal creations, the orange and vanilla concoction was the only dessert to even come close to touching the classic chocolate Frosty’s eliteness.
I was too late. Even though the triple berry Frosty didn’t officially hit stores until Monday, the drive-thru near me had already switched in the new flavor.
Why triple berry? Of all the seasonal Frosty flavors Wendy’s has given us so far — strawberry, peppermint, pumpkin spice and my beloved orange Dreamsicle — this seems the most generic and least inspired. It sounds more like a yogurt flavor than a dessert flavor! While a combination of strawberry, raspberry and blackberry sounds like it has some potential, it’s simply adding two new berries to a previous flavor. A flavor, I must say, that tasted disappointingly artificial.
It’s also kind of weird timing, considering creamsicle is a quintessential summer flavor. But I guess triple berry is summery enough, right?
After making peace with the fact that my favorite seasonal Frosty was gone, I ordered the triple berry variant. And while it didn’t completely ease the sting, the new rendition of the best dessert in fast food was good enough to at least make me feel a little bit better.
Is the triple berry Frosty elite? Nope. But it’s definitely a solid addition to the Frosty lineup. It avoids tasting cloyingly artificial like the peppermint Frosty, and improves upon the strawberry frosty through the addition of blackberry and raspberry. That isn’t to say it doesn’t taste a little bit fake — what, you were expecting fresh berries from the drive-thru window? But it isn’t isn’t painfully noticeable like before. It’s pleasantly fruity, creamy and refreshing.
The best part of this Frosty is actually something that hampered other flavors — the fact that it’s simply flavoring mixed into a vanilla Frosty base. While that diluted the flavor with peppermint and strawberry, the fruit flavoring is strong enough here that the hint of vanilla merely makes this taste like a berries and cream dessert — or like one of Haagen-Dazs’ long-discontinued sorbet and yogurt bars.
The chocolate Frosty still reigns supreme, and the orange Dreamsicle frosty will always be my seasonal favorite. But it’s nice to see Wendy’s continue to get more creative on the Frosty front.
Related coverage:
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• I tried McDonald’s grandma McFlurry so you don’t have to. Here’s my review.
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• I tried Wendy’s orange Dreamsicle Frosty so you don’t have to. Here’s my review.
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Stories by Jeremy Schneider
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Jeremy Schneider may be reached at jschneider@njadvancemedia.com and followed on Twitter at @J_Schneider and on Instagram at @JeremyIsHungryAgain.