Kotas Reviews the Arbys Pumpkin Spice Milkshake

Ah, fall. Possibly my favorite season of the year, it contains several things I love: A holiday about dressing up in costumes to go beg for candy, a holiday about gorging on food until you fall asleep on the couch while watching television, and of course, temperatures that don't make me want to go hide in a freezer for 4 months. It also is the season of one of my favorite yet most despised flavors: Pumpkin Spice! 

I love pumpkin pie, and when something is "pumpkin spice" it is generally supposed to taste similar to pumpkin pie. So that is good. Sadly, artificial pumpkin pie flavoring is often terrible, and for whatever reason a whole host of things emerges at this time of year heralding Peak Pumpkin Spice. I mean, we have your Pumpkin Spice Lattes and your Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts, which are pretty good. Then you have things like Pumpkin Spice Oreos and Pumpkin Spice M&Ms, which I don't think I understand. The whole point of pumpkin spice is that it is "not chocolate", right? RIGHT? Whatever. Today we tackle Arby's bandwagon jumping seasonal shake: The Pumpkin Spice Milkshake!

What wonders await beneath this plastic lid?

Any time Arbys goes outside their usual flavors for milkshakes can be a mixed bag. I rather liked the Caramel Apple shake, but the Creme Brulee shake was...well, I reviewed both. Go hit my archives. The point is, their flavors can get a little crazy, and this shake is no exception. I can honestly say that at no time in my life was I ever drinking a milkshake and said to myself "You know what would really be awesome? Pumpkin spice as a flavored partially gelatinated non-dairy gum-based beverage!" Still, one must be brave when one is a reviewer. Let's pop the top!

My eyes! The goggles do nothing!

You order this thing, and you know you are going to get something pumpkin spicy. Just look at that light orange color! Honestly, it's mildly terrifying to view, but it has a faint odor of sweetness and something pumpkin-related. The flavor is what my wife and I decided was a lot like eating the whipped topping off of the top of a piece of pumpkin pie. There is a lot of nutmeg, creaminess, sweetness, but only a bit of anything pumpkin. It's not bad, really, but it is much more Spice than Pumpkin. It is definitely drinkable and the flavor doesn't overwhelm, but also doesn't particularly thrill. 

On the FACE Rating System, this shake gets 0 faces. It's not bad, but it's not particularly good. It is Pumpkin Spice, but much heavier on the Spice than Pumpkin and nutmeg alone does not carry the day in standard pumpkin spice offerings. I would not go out of my way to get it, but if you are a huge fan of all things nutmeg, I would recommend you give it a whirl. Everyone else? Take it or leave it, it's your decision.