We Tried All Three Dairy Queen Coffee Coolers

It’s starting to feel like fall, which isn’t your typical time for ice cream. But Dairy Queen just released three new Coffee Coolers and as soon as we heard, we knew we had to try them―season be damned.

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The new release comes in three flavors: Oreo Coffee Cooler, Salted Caramel Coffee Cooler, and Toasted Marshmallow Coffee Cooler. All three flavors have the same base―Dairy Queen’s classic soft serve and “misty slush,” (basically their proprietary slush-texture syrup), ice, and cold brew. Then you add things like ribbons of caramel, Oreo cookie pieces, and even tiny soft marshmallows, top it all with whipped cream and (if you’re me) hope you don’t spill it all on the way home. In celebration of forthcoming National Coffee Day (September 29th), you can get each flavor in a small for just $3.

Oreo Coffee Cooler

Pros: Most Oreo collaborations succeed because you’ve got an almost cake-like cookie and just enough creamy filling. But one instant pro here is the oddly perfect mix between the specific, uniquely cocoa-y Oreo chocolate flavor (blended into the drink) with the deeper roasted notes of the cold brew. Even though the cookie is blended a bit too thoroughly (a chunkier, pulsed cookie would’ve been kind of good), you still get errant ribbons of that Oreo cream filling as you sip or spoon your way through. 

Cons: Sweet. Not as insanely, cloyingly sweet as Oreos plus soft serve plus whipped cream could be―and, again, subtly but effectively tempered by that weird marriage between Oreo’s darker cocoa profile and the roasted cold brew―but the folks at DQ are almost on the verge of a semi-sophisticated Oreo blended beverage here! Just dial down the syrup, soft serve, chunk up the Oreos, and pour a bit heavier on the cold brew. 

Salted Caramel Coffee Cooler

Pros: Oddly, considering the (shamelessly seductive) ribbons of caramel swirled along the inside of the cup, this one isn’t as sweet as the Oreo version! This is just a tad less cloyingly sweet, with a delicate little offsetting crunch of salty-sweet candy pieces (just a very few) sprinkled on top. 

Cons: Okay, maybe I spoke a bit too soon about the sweetness because once you do hit a ribbon of caramel, the sip becomes like a gold rush of sugar. And even though the coffee-caramel combination is so classically well harmonized, the more I sip, the more I think, yet again, DQ needs to dial down the sucrose, up the cold brew, and definitely get more liberal with whatever those sweet and salty candy pieces were on top―the saltiness especially wakes up the roasted coffee notes (that is when they’re not being smothered by, admittedly luscious, but just-too-much, caramel). 

Toasted Marshmallow DQ Coffee Cooler

Pros: First sip, I got a small chewy soft marshmallow (like those Swiss Miss marshmallows were bigger and not at all crunchy). To be honest, in the description I couldn’t tell where the “toasted marshmallow” flavor was going to come into play, and so far as I can tell, these marshmallow pieces, plus maybe some marshmallow syrup, is it. 

Cons: As much as I enjoyed the (not too common) surprise of some nice chewy marshmallow–and fudgy–pieces in the mix of the drink, the “toasted” vibe is almost entirely absent. Seriously, a nice darker toasted marshmallow flavor (by way of a better syrup?) would have worked so perfectly and even would have helped bring out the roasted flavor of the cold brew. Here, not just due to the sweet ingredients but thanks to that lack of toastiness, the cold brew factor (which is meant to be a factor, noticeable, robust) is very, very subtle.