Review: Sonic's Winter Menu Delivers Some Hot Hits And Cool Misses

The tricks haven't even been treated for Halloween yet, and Sonic is already looking to turn the page over to a winter, with a menu to match. The holidays are apparently coming super early this year, and the famed Drive-In is hoping a Queso Smasher Burger, Buttery Brew, Sparkling Sugar Cookie De Pepper, and/or Red Velvet Cake Batter Shake are on everyone's appetite wish list. In a press release, Mackenzie Gibson, vice president of culinary & menu innovation at Sonic said, "Winter is the season for indulgence, where memorable flavors bring us together with family and friends, creating moments that are as comforting as they are delicious."

Before the actual holiday rush took over, I rushed on over to my nearest Sonic to see if these four new items filled me with plenty of holly jolly, or perhaps were various lumps of coal. This chew and review, and sip and say, is based on taste, originality, winter vibes, and overall lovability.

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

Sonic's winter menu will first be available to order for all app users starting October 28, and to everyone starting on November 4. The menu will be landing in participating locations, for a limited time only, and while supplies last. The winter menu items are available to order anytime Sonic is open, even breakfast, but check with your location for availability. Orders can be placed on the app for pick-up or dine-in, and after November 4, in store at the register, drive-in, and drive-thru where available.

The Queso Smasher can be ordered with double or triple the amount of patties. It can also be ordered as a combo, which includes a side, and a drink. The Buttery Brew, Sparkling Sugar Cookie De Pepper, or Red Velvet Cake Batter Shake can be one of those drinks chosen for the combo, at an additional cost. The two drinks can be a la carte, found under the Flavorista Favorites submenu, and come in the sizes mini, small, medium, large, and the mammoth RT 44-ounce drink. The shake can be found within the "Frozen Zone" submenu, under the "Master Shakes" line-up. It is available to order in every size except RT 44.

Prices vary per location. At the Sonic I visited in Queens, New York, a Double Sonic Queso Smasher ran $8.59, medium versions of the Buttery Brew and Sparkling Sugar Cookie Dr Pepper for $3.69 each, and a medium Red Velvet Cake Batter Shake for $6.49.

From its exterior, the Double Sonic Queso Smasher looks like an ordinary smashburger — with crispy dried bits of the beef hanging out. I got a clearer picture once when I opened the hood of the top bun. My eyes were overtaken by a sea of an off-white creamy sauce, holding in place diced onions, small slices of jalapeño, and what thin tortilla strip chips.

The orange-brown bun was soft, but had a thin crustiness to it. The onions were more sweet than bitter. The tortilla strips were somewhere between a potato stick and a Frito, but not as good as either. The creamy white mass was actually an amalgamation of American cheese, white queso, and a Southwest sauce, and added up to a sharp witches brew that was both tangy and zesty. The smashed-aspect of the burger led to crispy ends, but the more meaty interior offsets it with a needed juiciness.

It all added to a burger that instantly won my mouth over for its pure deliciousness, as well as pepping it up with its array of perfectly leveled spiciness. A Double Queso Smasher nets 700 calories, 45 grams of fat, 16 grams of saturated fat, 39 grams of carbohydrates, 9 grams of total sugars, 2 grams of added sugar, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 36 grams of protein, 110 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,620 milligrams of sodium, 6 milligrams of calcium, and 10 milligrams of potassium.

While the burger didn't light my mouth on fire, it's lightly-salted attributes certainly quenched my thirst. I had two drinks at my disposal, and surmised that the Sparkling Sugar Cookie Dr Pepper may be my best bet to do so. The item's description states that this Dr Pepper is jazzed up with hints of caramel and sugar cookie, and topped with a sweet cream.

What it looked like was a watered-down brown cola, loaded with pelleted ice, and a thin layer of what looked like milk at the very bottom. I leaned in for a whiff, and it definitely smelled like a sugar cookie more than it did a soda. My brain couldn't exactly piece together what it was going to taste like, and when it was my mouth's turn to decipher, it had trouble nailing it down.

It was like a Dr Pepper that lost its signature biting taste made up of 23 secret flavors, and was muddled down with some sort of odd cream soda I wasn't really digging. A medium order of Sonic's Sparkling Sugar Cookie Dr Pepper nets 230 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 15 calories from fat, 61 grams of carbohydrates, 58 grams of total sugars, 1 gram of protein, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 140 milligrams of sodium, 28.48 milligrams of calcium, 82.31 international units of vitamin A, and .05 milligrams of iron.

After my struggles to enjoy the sugary Dr Pepper, I turned to the Buttery Brew as some sort of bubbly savior. This drink is root beer that has been gussied up with caramel and cream. It appeared far creamier than its Dr Pepper brother, and could have passed for an overly water-downed ice coffee, with a thin layer of brown liquid at its bottom.

My mouth was quickly relieved it was more palatable than whatever that sugary Dr Pepper concoction was, I wasn't exactly ready to crown this other drink as a winner. My taste buds kept searching for the additives of flavor, but it just came back tasting like root beer sip after sip. Don't get me wrong, the root beer tasted just fine, but there was supposed to be something a bit more to it, and it just wasn't there.

A medium drink order of Sonic's Buttery Brew nets 320 calories, 2.5 grams of fat and saturated fat, 20 calories from fat, 112 grams of carbohydrates, 69 grams of total sugars, 2 grams of protein, 210 milligrams of sodium, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 89.3 grams of calcium, .09 milligrams of iron, .02 milligrams of vitamin C, and 124.58 international units of vitamin A.

By looks alone, the Red Velvet Cake Batter Shake was certainly the bell of the ball. A tall cup filled with a raspberry-like shade of pink, interspersed with small red streaks. It was topped off with a generous helping of what can best be described as strawberry cream cheese, plus one loose maraschino cherry. As I leaned in for a smell, it had the strong essence of cake icing, with a little hint of cake batter.

I started at the top with the oddly alluring cream. As I dug my spoon in, I could tell it had a thicker consistency than standard whipped cream, and held very firm even as the shake began to melt.

It was also fluffy, super rich, and had the bonus of containing little bits of red velvet cake batter. This topping alone was worth the price of admission. The rest of the actual shake had a smooth chocolatey flavoring to it, which added up to a shake that tasted just like the genuine article — red velvet cake. A medium order of this shake nets 820 calories, 36 grams of fat, 21 grams of saturated fat, 330 calories from fat, 116 grams of carbohydrates, 96 grams of total sugar, 2 grams of total dietary fiber, 15 grams of protein, 100 milligrams of cholesterol, 790 milligrams of sodium, 317.95 milligrams of calcium, .73 milligrams of iron, and a whopping 1,099.7 international units of vitamin A.

Winter is coming, and Sonic's new offerings are a mixed stocking bag. Ultimately, the chain delivered two big yummy winners, and two you don't need to be writing holiday cards home about.

The two sodas swimming in unnecessary sweetness are essentially lumps of liquid coal. The Buttery Brew sounded straight out of a Harry Potter book, but without any magic. It just tastes like root beer. As for the Sparkling Sugar Cookie Dr Pepper, it is certainly not what the good doctor would have ordered. The flavorings never made a definitive mark, and then got in the way making it a digestible drink. Perhaps a sugar cookie infused with Dr Pepper would have worked better?

The Double Sonic Queso Smasher tasted like a well dressed up spiced hot dog, with a pungent nacho cheese and jalapeño giving it a flavorful punch. The tortilla strips were the lone drawback of this one, and I kind of wish they were replaced with Flamin' Hot Fritos. Still, nothing can stop this from being a delicious smash of an entrée. The perfect dessert to finish off the meal isn't a slice of cake, but a shake that tastes exactly like the genuine article. The beauty of the Red Velvet Cake Batter Shake is that even when it starts to melt, its lusciously rich taste gives off the illusion that it's still physically thick. That's quite the gift of a winter treat. Stay warm my friends.