Review: Starbucks' Smoked Butterscotch Coffee Is A Bold Choice That Stands Out

There comes a point in every coffee connoisseur's life when they fall victim to the unrelenting urge to put down their favorite bitter, earthy single-origin roast in favor of a sweet treat. I'm talking, of course, about flavored coffee. If your barista friend tells you they can't stomach flavored coffees, they're probably just being bougie. There's nothing like the classic aroma and rich flavor of coffee combined with the taste of your favorite dessert. Glazed donut? Blueberry cobbler? Key lime pie? I can assure you that there's a drinkable version of any treat, and it comes in the form of the world's most effective wake-up call.

At Starbucks, every season comes with congruous coffee flavors. The Pumpkin Spice Latte — Starbucks' autumnal icon — is the most famous of fall, while sweet berries signify summer, fresh florals are a sign of spring, and creamy cocoa confirms winter is around the corner. Among the selection of seasonal specialties from the chain coffee behemoth is Smoked Butterscotch, a new release in its Coffee At Home line. I tried this new brew, and I'll give my honest opinion on its flavor and value and determine whether it deserves a hard pass or if it has the power to accomplish the most arduous task known to coffee and rise through the ranks to become the foremost fall favorite.

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

To fully comprehend the flavor of Starbucks' Smoked Butterscotch coffee, it would help to understand what butterscotch is. Most people have dabbled in this elusive flavor addition, whether it be via pudding cups or those little hard candies synonymous with a visit to Grandma's house. Butterscotch is kind of like the misunderstood black sheep in the family of caramel and toffee. What sets butterscotch apart from caramel is the use of brown sugar in its creation, as opposed to white sugar, which is used to craft caramel. In addition to this difference, butterscotch also typically includes butter. (Go figure.)

Butterscotch is no stranger to the Starbucks menu. In the past, the company offered a sweetened butterscotch-flavored latte for fall. The Smoked Butterscotch Latte is still accessible if you know your way around the Starbucks secret menu, but otherwise, butterscotch remains a part of Starbucks lore, gone but not forgotten ... until now. The chain's new limited-time at-home release isn't the same as a sweetened latte, but it still scratches the itch for the creamy, decadent flavor. While butterscotch might be pretty standard in the realm of flavored coffees, Starbucks elects to give it a much-needed twist of smokiness. The unique interpretation is meant to celebrate summer's majestic transformation into cozy fall.

Starbucks' Smoked Butterscotch coffee is a new release only available from August to October. You can purchase it in 11- or 17-ounce bags of pre-ground coffee or as K-Cup pods for your Keurig. The ground coffee only comes in a grind size suitable for pour-over or drip, so be sure to plan accordingly if you usually use a French press, which requires coarse-ground beans, or another coffee mechanism with specific grind requirements

The Smoked Butterscotch coffee is ideal for those who prefer to get their Starbies fix by recreating the chain's famous drinks from the comfort of home. You can easily pick this new seasonal release up with the rest of your groceries. It's available at the two largest supercenters in the nation — Target and Walmart — so you can get your butterscotch on with ease and convenience.

If a trip to Walmart or Target sounds like too much of a hassle, Starbucks' Smoked Butterscotch coffee is also available for purchase on Amazon. Order a bag of ground beans or K-Cups from the e-commerce giant and brew a cup without ever having to change out of your pajamas, also known as the most significant luxury afforded by the modern world — in my opinion, anyway.

Starbucks' ground Smoked Butterscotch and K-Cups vary in price, depending on the size of the bag or amount of K-Cups purchased and the store from which they're purchased from. As with most retail items, the larger the size, the more you save in the long run. 

At Walmart, a 17-ounce bag of Smoked Butterscotch grounds is priced at $12.48. As of this writing, an 11-ounce bag actually goes for more — $17.99 when purchased online through Walmart's website. K-Cups are available from Walmart as a box of 22 pods for $29.97, but only when purchased online; the 22-pack's regular price is $39.98. You can also choose a 10-pack of K-Cups on Walmart's website for $22.86, but the 30-pack is obviously the much better deal.

Target offers Starbucks' Smoked Butterscotch coffee in K-Cup and ground form, as well. An 11-ounce bag is only $8.99 here, and a 22-pack of Keurig pods goes for $16.99. Target doesn't offer any larger sizes of the coffee.

On Amazon, you can snag a 17-ounce bag of ground Smoked Butterscotch for $12.48 or 10 K-Cups for $18.75. Amazon doesn't offer Starbucks' Smoked Butterscotch coffee in 11-ounce bags or larger packs of K-Cups.

To try the Smoked Butterscotch coffee, I opted for a bag of ground beans and brewed the coffee in a standard drip coffee maker. The beans were clearly that of a dark roast and had an extremely rich and subtly sweet aroma that whisked me away to a cabin in the woods on a colorful fall morning — the best kind of morning.

Typically, I go heavy-handed with ground coffee in a drip machine because I like a more potent cup, but for this review, I decided to measure out the coffee based on package instructions: 7.5 grams per 6 fluid ounces of water. As soon as the coffee started to brew, I noticed that it looked far too weak and watery, so I started over and added more coffee to the filter.

After experimenting a bit with the coffee-to-water ratio and discovering that the package instructions produce a tea-like cup of coffee, it was time to dive in. The Smoked Butterscotch coffee was far less sweet than I expected or is typical of a flavored coffee. Its flavor notes offered a nuanced combination of bitter, salty, and creamy tastes, along with the classic indulgent flavor of butterscotch. The smokiness of the coffee existed as more of an aftertaste, while the butterscotch flavor was front and center. The smokiness reminded me of a gentle campfire burning on a chilly fall night and added a layer of complexity that paired well with the other sweet and salty flavors.

To get the full picture of Starbucks' Smoked Butterscotch coffee, I tried it black first. The natural bitterness and acidity of the coffee added another contrasting taste profile to the already extremely complex flavor. It was so complex that it was hard to enjoy more than a couple of sips before my taste buds felt overwhelmed and my palate agitated.

Next, I tried a cup with cream and sugar. The added boost of sweetness was just what this coffee needed, and the fatty milk toned down the bitter flavor while a delightful creaminess coated my palate and made the smokiness more apparent. The addition of milk and sugar also amplified the coffee's saltiness, which was my favorite aspect of its incredibly nuanced flavor. I ended up brewing a third cup (hey, don't judge) and added maple syrup, which is my favorite pantry staple to add to coffee. This was the ideal sweetener to turn the Smoked Butterscotch coffee from decent to decadent.

Since the rich, fatty milk brought out the best flavors, I imagine that the addition of olive oil along with milk to the coffee would produce an extremely luscious cup. Add maple syrup and a little whip? Now that's a fall beverage to — dare I say it — rival the PSL.

For those who only like black coffee, I would suggest steering clear of Smoked Butterscotch. The addition of milk and sugar, however, takes this coffee to new heights, although some coffee lovers might still find its assortment of flavor notes to be overbearing. I would have liked to experience this coffee as a light roast rather than a dark roast so that its bitterness wouldn't have taken away from the many other aspects of its flavor profile.

It comes as no surprise that Starbucks would bring back butterscotch in one way or another, considering the popularity of its Smoked Butterscotch Latte. I think adding the twist of smokiness to this tried-and-true flavor was a bold choice. Starbucks could have played it safe and brought back its popular butterscotch syrup, but Smoked Butterscotch adds something interesting to its fall lineup. The coffee would pair well with a toasty breakfast sandwich from Starbucks, enhancing any underlying sweet flavors in bacon or sausage, while the sandwich would accentuate the coffee's saltiness.

Smoked Butterscotch's prices are typical of grocery store coffee, but with Starbucks' elevated quality compared to that of more basic brands. Overall, this new limited-time release is worth it, even though more ground coffee is required for an adequate cup than one would usually use. Still, it adds more variety to Starbucks' fall collection — offering something more unique than typical autumn flavors — and will likely appeal to nearly anyone who loves unique flavored coffees.