What Does the 7-Eleven Pumpkin Spice Slurpee Taste Like?

It’s nowhere near fall in Texas and won’t be for months. However, pumpkin spice season starts in August, thanks to our Starbucks overlords and the passions of dozens and dozens of spice lovers who can’t wait. Okay, fine, so we also go for that first pumpkin spice latte of the season (the season is in October, though), and that moment of enjoyment is part of what drove me to try the new 7-Eleven pumpkin spice Slurpee, which is available now at the test store at its headquarters in Irving.

Where to begin describing it? There is no coffee or milk flavoring; it’s strictly pumpkin spice and Slurpee ice, which is odd. Even cold brew, iced coffee, or chai and pumpkin spice drinks have that stout coffee note to set off the sweetness, and it was hard to imagine what this would taste like as a drink without it.

The first sip out of the machine gives the familiar mouthfeel of a Slurpee with a solid top note of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, all the hallmarks of pumpkin spice. Tasting that in a frozen drink is a strange mental disconnect but not entirely unpleasant. The aftertaste is strong, which is not unusual for a Slurpee, and the array of syrups the flavors seem to utilize. However, having cinnamon linger on a cold tongue is a little odd.

As the drink melts, the vanilla syrup element becomes stronger, and more cloying — it requires some shaking around to stay palatable. The more it melts, the less desirable it becomes, eliciting cringes with each sip.

7-Eleven declined to make a representative available to talk about how this drink was developed, but driving down the highway and sipping it on a 100-plus degree day in Texas sets the mind to an obvious answer to the why. Summers are hotter and last longer. Pumpkin spice season creep hasn’t just gone forward, breaking into August at coffee shops, but iced drink season has pushed back, creeping into the time that used to be fall and now is a perpetual extra-long summer.

The idea for this drink isn’t out of pocket — on paper, it makes sense. Unfortunately, it’s a mash-up of two pleasant ideas, the Slurpee and pumpkin spice, that don’t sit well in one cup together.

Dallasites who want to try it can find the Slurpee at the 7-Eleven Headquarters store at 3200 Hackberry Road in Irving.