You might be wondering why I only reviewed McDonald’s new Blackberry Passion Fruit Refresher and not the other two beverages in the newfangled product line. Well, that’s because the other two flavors — Strawberry-Watermelon and Mango-Pineapple — were totally sold out. Gee, who would’ve thought THESE things would’ve been such a smash hit in the foothills of north Georgia?

It’s pretty obvious what McDonald’s is going for with these Refreshers, and it’s especially clear with the Blackberry Passion Fruit mix. It looks like a Starbucks drink, it smells like a Starbucks drink, and it’s almost priced as much as a Starbucks drink — but can Mickey D’s really beat a certain Seattle coffee monolith at its own game?

Well, the short answer is … nah, at least as far as the Blackberry Passion Fruit Refresher is concerned.

The product is definitely a McNovelty. The beverage is anchored around a lemonade base with a deluge of blackberry flavoring stirred into it. And not only do we get a dose of passion fruit syrup, but we get more passion fruit on top of it. As in, the extra passion fruit is literally frozen in humongous chunks of ice, like an esoteric fruit version of Captain America or something. It’s not exactly something I’d expect to ever see at McDonald’s, but hey, we all went through our experimental art phase at some point.

I guess my biggest issue with the drink is the use of the term “Refresher.” I see that, and I instinctively think something sweet, or at least a bit syrupy on the taste buds. This Refresher, however, is surprisingly stout and bitter, even for a lemonade-based beverage. The blackberry and dragon fruit flavorings aren’t terribly harmonious here, and they don’t really gel all that well with the lemonade. The first couple of sips were definitely a culture shock for me. Indeed, I had to pinch myself to make sure I was on Ronald’s turf and not trying a sample at Teavana.

Thankfully, your tongue does get acclimated to the beverage the more you drink it. I suppose if you’re in a certain mood and you’re pairing it with some very specific meal, it would be a bang-up drink. This is something you delicately sip while in a study, listening to Cocteau Twins, and not something you’d want to reach for in the fridge right after mowing the lawn. And it definitely does not go well with pancakes, if anybody asks.

Perhaps saying I was “disappointed” by this Refresher is too harsh. It’s not a bad drink at all, and I can see how some people might really dig it. Alas, the mixologists at McDonald’s look like they still have some reformulating to do before they get this specific recipe right. You can almost taste what could’ve been here, and with a bit more tweaking, it definitely could’ve been a Starbucks-tier offering.

As it is, it’s merely alright. It does look pretty cool, though. Even if they didn’t mean to, this thing is TOTALLY Grimace-coded.

Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: Large
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 270 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 75 milligrams of sodium, 66 grams of carbohydrates, 59 grams of sugar, 0 grams of fiber, and 1 gram of protein.

McDonald’s might have its equivalent to the Baja Blast with its newfangled Sprite Berry Blast. And no, it’s not just because both fast food beverages have the word “Blast” in their names.

Sprite Berry Blast is part of a trio of new McDonald’s craft sodas, which also includes a “Dirty” Dr. Pepper variant and an “Orange Dream” Hi-C remix, which presumably tastes a lot like a melted Creamsicle. The Sprite Berry Blast item is definitely the most unique of the three, and in some ways, it’s also the most ambitious. I mean, it’s not like you can get foamy, blue raspberry-flavored Sprite anywhere else, especially in a 20-ounce bottle at the nearest convenience store.

The drink’s aesthetics are undeniably cool. The beverage has a nice cerulean tone, sort of a cross between Mountain Berry Blast Powerade and Windex. And with the swirls of cream at the top of the cup, it totally looks like a cloudy photo of Earth taken from the Hubble Telescope or something. For extra ephemera value, my cup also had a McTie-In to this year’s World Cup, in case you were wondering which group stage contests were taking place in Atlanta later this year. Visually, it screams “Summer 2026.”

I’m not sure how I’d describe the taste of the cream. I guess it has a little Cool Whip flair to it, but it tastes sweeter than the stuff you normally get doused on top of your coffees at Starbucks. The mouthfeel is great, kinda nailing the perfect balance between soupy and chewy. It doesn’t add as much to the overall flavor as you might expect, but it’s certainly a nice way to begin the beverage experience.

I went into this product expecting “Sprite, only artificial-blueberry flavored.” But that’s not exactly the case. Really, it doesn’t taste like traditional Sprite at all — more like a super sparkly, ultra crispy raspberry ginger ale. It goes down very smooth and every now and then you pick up a noticeable but subdued citrus kick. It’s like the fully evolved Pokémon version of a Blue Raspberry Slush Puppie — in pure liquid form.

There’s sort of a misconception out there that all blue raspberry beverages taste the same. But this one really does have a distinct profile and personality. I kept trying to gauge in my head which flavor was predominant — i.e., is it more Sprite or blue raspberry? — but that’s a fool’s errand. The mishmash of the two flavors is so harmonious that it indeed feels like an all-new drink and not just another slight retread of something we’ve already drank a billion times before. This isn’t Pepsi Blue all over again; it’s a totally different type of beast. It’s certainly sharper than most McDonald’s beverages; it almost feels like a non-alcoholic version of a blueberry daiquiri cocktail.

This is a Sprite spin-off for people who don’t necessarily like Sprite. If you like pina coladas and/or dancing in the rain, I suspect this stuff is right up your alley.

Purchased Price: $3.19
Size: Large
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 390 calories, 7 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 120 milligrams of sodium, 84 grams of carbohydrates, 82 grams of sugar, 0 grams of fiber, and 0 grams of protein.