Review: 7 Brew's 6 New Holiday Drinks Range From Cozy Classic To Syrupy Sweet Miss

The clock has struck November. And right off the bat, we've fallen back an hour. For most of us, that simply meant a little extra shut-eye, but for 7 Brew, it apparently meant a little extra time to give its menu a big update. Mother Nature works fast, but 7 Brew works faster.

At the chain, Halloween beverages like the Frankenchai Matcha Latte have eerily disappeared overnight, and early fall flavors like the Pumpkin Blondie Breve and Drizzled Apple 7 Fizz soda are but a distant memory. As we dip even deeper into fall and inch closer to winter, 7 Brew is introducing six new drinks. That's six new flavor combinations that are just begging to be tried.

I couldn't detect a specific theme with this latest drink drop. We have some cozier flavors like cinnamon rolls and pecan pie paired with a few wildcards like amaretto and tiramisu. And they're spread across everything from coffees and energy drinks to 7 Fizz sodas and even a hot cocoa. It's a lineup that's preparing us for the holidays while also keeping us on our toes. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from this mix of flavors, but that certainly didn't stop me from ordering all six to see what this new month at 7 Brew has in store. Let's dive into what's worth ordering and what you're better off skipping.

I ordered all six of 7 Brew's new drinks the morning they came out on November 1. This included the Pecan Pie Breve, French Silk Mocha, Tiramisu Cold Brew, Amaretto 7 Brew Energy, Butter Brew 7 Fizz soda, and Cinnamon Roll Cocoa.

I ordered the smallest size available for each drink. For the Pecan Pie Breve, French Silk Mocha, Butter Brew 7 Fizz, and Cinnamon Roll Cocoa, that meant a kids' size. For the Tiramisu Cold Brew and Amaretto Energy, a small was the smallest option. Many of the drinks also come in different formats, including hot, iced, or frozen chillers. But I ordered each one the way it appeared on the app. That meant iced for everything except the hot cocoa, which unsurprisingly only comes hot. I also opted for the regular flavors in all six drinks rather than any sugar-free alternatives.

As I sipped each one, I was really just looking for tasty beverages. I wanted something that tasted like its name, with all the added ingredients and flavors well represented. I also wanted drinks that felt fitting for November and offered something unique compared to other 7 Brew offerings. Of course, finding something that wasn't terribly saccharine or syrupy was also top of mind as I reviewed each one.

7 Brew decided to take a break from pumpkin and apple this time around. Instead, it's turning its attention to a few different types of beloved pies, including pecan. To achieve this familiar flavor, the chain loads almond roca (a type of hard toffee), Irish cream, and salted caramel into one of its classic breves. I paid $4.35 for a kids' size of the iced version.

Looking at the ingredients, it seems like the chain was trying to science experiment its way to pecan pie. But the end result doesn't really taste like the pie at all. I didn't get any kind of nuttiness, and that rich, recognizable taste of pecan pie goo was nowhere to be found. However, if I hadn't known that's what the drink was trying to imitate, I would have thought it was pretty good. It really just boils down to a caramel-flavored iced espresso drink. The coffee taste was definitely strong, but with the addition of half-and-half (a core ingredient in a breve alongside espresso) and Irish cream, there was also a nice creaminess to it.

Maybe it more closely resembles pecan pie when it's served hot? I'll have to try that one too. But in its iced form, it's not quite as advertised.

Another pie turned coffee beverage. But this one leaned more winter than fall in my mind. It's essentially a drinkable, extra-caffeinated version of a French silk pie (which isn't quite the same as a chocolate mousse pie). And it actually triples down on the chocolate, starting with the chain's mocha mix blended with espresso. Then it layered in dark chocolate and vanilla flavors before finally capping it all off with a whipped cream hat and a drizzle of even more dark chocolate syrup. I also ordered an iced kids size of this one for $4.35.

I braced for that ultra-rich, triple-chocolate threat, but the flavor was much more mellow than I expected. It tasted more like milk chocolate mixed in with the espresso and milk rather than dark chocolate. In fact, it didn't seem all that different from one of the chain's more standard, year-round mocha drinks. The vanilla flavoring may help round everything out a bit, but it wasn't blatantly obvious as I sipped.

The iced version of this drink does make the most sense, considering French silk pie is traditionally served cold. But I couldn't help thinking this one might taste better hot, as well.

I'm not sure the Italians would be too happy about this one. I wasn't too pleased with it either, and I don't even have any special allegiance to Italy or its beloved layered dessert.

The kicker here is that I actually do get some of those classic tiramisu flavors — more so than I tasted pecan pie in the breve or French silk pie in the mocha. The strange combination of salted caramel, almond, and chocolate macadamia nut flavors poured into a cold brew does somehow give off hints of espresso, cocoa powder, and a sweet dessert. However, some ingredient here sabotaged the entire drink with a strange sour taste. I couldn't tell if it was an overload of almond or simply the cold brew not meshing well with the chocolate, but something was pretty off-putting. The consistency was also a little strange, almost like the drink hadn't been properly mixed, and it left behind a slightly chalky mouthfeel. The cold foam on top could have helped, but it dissipated fast.

All things considered, I wasn't entirely happy about spending $5.50 on just a small size. I think I'm coming to the realization that some desserts are just better left on a plate.

7 Brew's energy drinks are hit or miss for me. I don't prefer the Redbull dupe that is the original but I can get on board with other flavored options like the Pink Mermaid or Ocean Breeze. The newest addition to the energy lineup is this rosy pink Amaretto drink, which I ordered in a small size for $5.60. It sounded like it could be bright and refreshing, infused with flavors of cherry, blackberry, and almond. But unfortunately, the execution just wasn't there. Another one bites the dust and falls to the list of misses.

It was extremely sweet and fairly syrupy as well. If you're expecting those true almond and marzipan flavors of the Italian liqueur, you'll be disappointed. Cherry really took over in this cup, steamrolling right over the blackberry as well. And it wasn't so much a juicy, fresh cherry flavor as it was a cough syrup-like one. It's enough to send a little shiver down your spine.

It did get a bit better as the ice melted and diluted some of that sweetness. But that's not exactly a glowing endorsement. That's two strikes for 7 Brew, and between this and the Tiramisu Cold Brew, I guess that's two strikes for Italy as well.

I think I may have finally uncovered the theme of these new drinks. It's almond. The flavor makes an appearance in four out of the six new beverages, so clearly someone at 7 Brew got a little nutty about this ingredient this month. But it hasn't exactly panned out in the ways the chain probably hoped. That is, until we get to this Fizz soda – the drink that sounded like the strangest pairing for almond of them all.

It includes almond roca, the same syrup used in the Pecan Pie Breve, along with salted caramel. It's also supposed to come topped with cold foam, although that was skipped on mine. Even without it, though, the drink has this dirty soda or cream soda-like feel to it. There's a definite buttery flavor coupled with that sweetness from the caramel (I didn't taste any saltiness). But the whole thing was still fairly light and refreshing. It's certainly not overly syrupy like the Amaretto Energy drink was.

This one was a pleasant surprise, especially considering my skepticism going into it. It's also one of the most affordable options in the new drink drop. I paid just $3.15 for a kids size.

Last drink, best drink. This cocoa tastes just like waking up on Christmas morning. Hot cocoa is a 7 Brew classic, and yes, it gets dressed up in just as many flavors as the chain's coffee drinks. There's everything from Candy Cane and S'mores to Chocolate Dipped Strawberry and even Grasshopper Cocoa, which combines dark chocolate, peppermint, and vanilla. This newest addition, though, takes things in a slightly different direction, bringing together brown sugar cinnamon and white chocolate to create a Cinnamon Roll Cocoa.

It was definitely cinnamon-y. At first, I thought it tasted closer to a gingerbread cookie chock-full of warm holiday spices. Or, even closer yet, one of those cinnamon-blasted Scooby-Doo graham cracker snacks. I'm telling you, the resemblance is uncanny. But as I kept drinking, I started to see where the chain was coming from with the Cinnamon Roll name. It hits all those notes of a cinnamon-swirled dough and sweet icing, just stirred into a cozy cup of hot chocolate.

It does seem a little ahead of its time. I think this cocoa would make a killing in December, when the holiday season is in full swing. But for all those people who insist on putting up their Christmas trees on November 1, it's perfect. Those people will also appreciate the price tag. The kid's cup cost me just $2.95, making this the cheapest new drink I tried.

I think what 7 Brew was trying to piece together here was a smorgasbord of fall and pre-holiday flavors. But what we got was more of a hodgepodge of confusing concoctions.

Of the six new drinks, there were a few that were good but didn't live up to their names. That would be the Pecan Pie Breve and the French Silk Mocha. There was one, the Tiramisu Cold Brew, that fit its name but wasn't particularly tasty. Then there was another that simply wasn't my cup of tea at all: the Amaretto Energy Drink. That left only two that were both good and tasted just as they were meant to: the Butter Brew Soda and the Cinnamon Roll Cocoa. If you're heading to 7 Brew during the month of November, those are the two I recommend you shout out at the drive-thru over the noise of the inevitable holiday playlist.

Compared to the collection of new baked goods 7 Brew released on the same day, November 1, this lineup of drinks was a bit of a letdown. To make matters worse, my beverages weren't even served in the chain's new snow- and Christmas light-covered holiday cups. I must have just missed out on them, but that was enough to turn me into a Scrooge before we've even made it past Thanksgiving.