Review: Coca-Cola's New Holiday Creamy Vanilla Flavor Deserves To Outlast The Season

In case you missed it, we're swiftly approaching this year's holiday season — though you can bet no big-box company will let you forget it. Starbucks' 2025 holiday menu is swiftly rolling out seasonal items as of this writing, and Coca-Cola is getting in on the festivities this year, as well. If your immediate reaction to that news is, "Well, of course Coca-Cola is in full celebratory mode," you should know that this is actually a pretty big deal. In fact, the 2025 holiday cans mark the first holiday release from the company in five years.

Now, this should signify excitement for Coca-Cola fans, but I'll admit to being pretty skeptical about the release ahead of trying it; Holiday Creamy Vanilla simply sounds like a fancy name for one of Coke's already-standard flavors. Still, I'm intrigued to see how this product will differentiate itself from the non-holiday option, and I can't deny that it comes in cute, festive packaging. While the cans are easily reminiscent of the holiday season, are the drinks worth the trip to your local Walmart? Keep reading for my verdict.

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Let's start with the dirty details. Holiday Creamy Vanilla Coca-Cola cans are available now in Walmart stores around the country, and you can buy them as a 12-pack of 12-ounce cans, or as 20-ounce bottles. The full sugar version can also be found in 2-liter bottles. Prices will likely vary depending on your store's location. The cans are only available for a limited time — which makes sense, given their "holiday" branding — but we're not entirely sure how long that will last. So if you want to try some, head to your local Walmart while they're still available.

The zero sugar version of the holiday drink has zero calories, and the only notable nutritional value is its 55 milligrams of sodium. It's sweetened with aspartame and sucralose. The full sugar version contains 150 calories per 12-ounce can, with 30 milligrams of sodium and 42 grams of sugar. As expected, it's sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, which is also the first ingredient listed on the can.

Coca-Cola has discontinued several flavors that we'd love the company to bring back, so it's time to see whether the Holiday Creamy Vanilla is worth similar hype. Pouring it into the glass, it fizzes and foams just as you'd expect from your average can of Coke. And after sipping, I can definitely tell why the company put "creamy" in the name.

Now, is there anything giving this drink a particular "holiday" appeal? Not really. Personally, I wouldn't call vanilla a seasonal flavor, so I'd happily enjoy this during the spring or summer. But it does have sort of the flavor of a cream soda, and in that way differentiates itself from plain vanilla Coke.

The sugar version of this Coke holiday offering refrains from being overly sweet and, most importantly, the vanilla flavor is readily apparent. I have to say I like this can of soda, even if I don't necessarily agree with its holiday labeling. In fact, I might have to ask Coca-Cola to offer this flavor year-round.

Is it heretical to say that I like the Zero Sugar Holiday Creamy Vanilla better than the full sugar version? I'm tasting a very distinct difference between the two, mostly in that the flavor of the zero sugar version is way more potent, lingering longer after taking a sip. Maybe I'm just biased because I'm used to drinking soft drinks with no sugar, but this one is very good. Plus, while I was a tad underwhelmed by the full sugar can, that's not the case with the zero sugar option.

Furthermore, that warm and creamy vanilla flavor is stronger in the last can, and I'm not getting any of that aspartame taste that I occasionally get with artificially-sweetened beverages. In other words, I'll happily finish this entire can. Of course, as with the full sugar creamy vanilla option, I'm still at a loss as to why this qualifies as a holiday-specific flavor. But it's still good, and I'm going to have to go grab a few 12-packs while they're still around.

Are the Holiday Creamy Vanilla Coke cans worth it? Yes. However, if you're trying to decide between the two options, I'd pick the zero sugar version hands down — and not even because of the nutritional value.

You'll get more bang for your buck with the zero sugar cans, after all; they pack more flavor, and I could easily down a few in one go. Of course, I won't tell you not to get the sugary version if you prefer. You could always do what I did, too: Try both, and see which is worthy of being your mainstay drink this holiday season.

My Walmart lists the 12-packs at a cost of $6.97, or just over 50 cents per can — which is a steal, if you ask me. These cans might not exactly get you in the holiday spirit, but they're good nonetheless, and worthy of a spot in your fridge.