Coca-Cola Holiday Creamy Vanilla Review: A Creamy Dream To Spread Seasonal Cheer

Coca-Cola came into this world as a syrup, courtesy of pharmacist Dr. John Stith Pemberton, who introduced this fine taste in 1886. For almost a century, Coca-Cola's taste remained relatively consistent, although soda fountains and diners often offered flavored variations — such as cherry, chocolate, lemon, and vanilla — to quite literally mix things up.

The first official major Coca-Cola variant was Diet Coke, introduced in 1982, followed by Cherry Coke three years later. The flavor experiments have continued ever since. Vanilla Coke burst onto the scene in 2002, and the brand dropped a cream soda earlier this year, with an orange flavor that wasn't exactly the cream of the Coca-Cola crop. Now, to kick off the 2025 winter season, the sodamaker is gifting consumers with a new beverage it hopes will raise spirits: Coca-Cola Holiday Creamy Vanilla.

So, is Coca-Cola Holiday Creamy Vanilla the perfect drink to end the year and ring in 2026, or is it the beverage equivalent of a lump of coal in your stocking? The Takeout wanted to know the answers for ourselves and had way more than a few sips to figure it all out. The truth can now be revealed in this sudsy sip and say.

Coca-Cola has long had an association with the holiday season. In fact, Coca-Cola's holiday marketing practically defined the look of the Santa we know today. It released a cinnamon-infused Coke Zero in the U.K. in 2018, before bringing the holiday beverage to the U.S. in cans of a good old regular Coca-Cola in 2019. That flavor returned in the winter of 2020 before Coca-Cola decided to take a holiday from releasing holiday sodas.

In 2025, Coca-Cola is getting back in the game. This time around, it's even adding the season to the drink's name — Coca-Cola Holiday Creamy Vanilla. The company describes it as a "seasonal twist on the iconic Coca-Cola taste [that] delivers comfort, refreshment and festive joy — just in time for the holidays," adding that it has "a delicious taste of Coca-Cola infused with smooth, creamy vanilla flavor that captures the joy of the holidays."

This new drink is only here for a short time, and a Zero Sugar version is tagging along for those who want to try the flavor in a lighter fashion.

Coca-Cola Holiday Creamy Vanilla officially launched on November 3. Both the original and sugar-free variants are rolling out to the majority of major U.S. and Canadian retailers, plus grocery convenience stores, for a limited time only, while supplies last.

The drinks come in several sizes and forms, including 12-ounce cans and 20-ounce bottles, as well as available on tap via Coca-Cola Freestyle machines found in restaurants and movie theater concession areas. There is also a Coca-Cola Holiday Creamy Vanilla full sugar version that is sold exclusively at Walmart in 2-liter bottles.

The drinks can be purchased à la carte, but cans are also available to purchase in 12-packs. Prices will vary by retailer and location, but a current price check at Target showed that 12-packs of cans sell for $9.99, 20-ounce bottles for $2.99, and at Walmart, the 2-liter bottle retails for $2.78 but is on sale for $1.98 when purchased online at the time of writing.

Coca-Cola Holiday Creamy Sugar is made up of carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, and less than 2% of caramel color, phosphoric acid, natural flavors, and caffeine. A 12-ounce can (aka 355 milliliters) of this regular version nets a drinker 150 calories, 30 milligrams of sodium, and 42 grams of added sugars. The latter equals 84% of your daily recommended intake of added sugar. It contains no fat or protein whatsoever.

Coca-Cola Holiday Creamy Sugar Zero Sugar has a similar composition, but in lieu of high fructose corn syrup, this one leans on ingredients such as sodium benzoate (to protect taste), acesulfame potassium, sodium citrate, aspartame, and sucralose. It also has phenylketonurics, which contain phenylalanine. True to its "zero" label, it has no calories, fat, carbs, sugar (added or otherwise), or protein. It contains 55 milligrams of sodium, which is slightly more than the classic version.

I had actually searched in stores for cans or a plastic bottle of Coca-Cola Holiday Creamy Vanilla, but luckily found a taste of what I was looking for on a trip to the movies to see the re-release of "Back to the Future." I was in a rush to get to my seat and filled my cup with my usual Diet Coke. However, after the movie ended, I realized that the Coca-Cola Freestyle machine at my local AMC was actually proudly serving Holiday Creamy Vanilla on tap, alongside the newly returned Diet Coke Lime.

I stepped up to the remarkable machine of endless choices, hit the proper buttons, dropped some ice cubes into the bottom of my way-too-large cup, and got my pour on. At first glance, this new Coke didn't look all that different from the original. It was the regular, dark, caramel brown hue that looked opaque in a paper cup, but shone a little brighter when later poured into a glass.

Without any fancy packaging to influence what I was about to drink, I was free to focus on the drink itself. I leaned in for a whiff, and it had the familiar scent of Coca-Cola, but with a bit of a twist. My first sip was a pure winner, with just the right amount of vanilla cream adding a perfect flavor boost to the main body of Coca-Cola. While I figured the novelty of the taste would soon wear thin with my taste buds, the more I sipped on it, the more attractive it became. It tasted both like the holidays and like a smooth treat for any time of year.

I tried the regular version of Coca-Cola Holiday Creamy Vanilla first, which set the bar pretty high for the Zero Sugar iteration. How could this lesser version possibly mimic its big brother and its supremely cozy taste without those blessed sugars?

Everything about this drink physically matched up with regular Coca-Cola Holiday Creamy Vanilla, from the color to the scent. A first sip passed the taste test, as it too seemed to have just the right touch of vanilla cream taste. It was nice and smooth, not a full force of flavor, of which the mouth would quickly grow tired.

While the regular version is absolutely the best version of Holiday Creamy Vanilla, this Zero Sugar one should not be overlooked. The more I went at this one, the more it reminded me of one of my favorite diet drinks ever — the dearly departed Tab cola. Yes, Tab! While I love Diet Coke, Tab was actually a better diet soda, as it had a unique biting flavor, which has now found a kindred spirit in this new Coca-Cola Holiday Creamy Vanilla Zero Sugar drink. While I know Tab is gone forever, I can sleep better at night this season knowing I can at least pretend to taste it again with this holiday drink. What a gift.

I love, love, love vanilla ice cream, but I'll be the first to admit that I don't think vanilla has a place in soda — especially a cup of Coca-Cola. To me, the aromatic flavor of vanilla is just too much of a mismatch for the fantastically rich and complex taste of the classic beverage. I am also not a giant fan of cream sodas. The creaminess added to any drink just amps up the vanilla flavoring to an extreme that requires an acquired taste. I am always open to trying something new, but have been burned time and time again by cream soda. For example, Taco Bell's recent foray into vanilla creamdom was one of the worst things I've tasted all year.

Despite these preconceived notions, I am happy to report that Coca-Cola Holiday Creamy Vanilla and its Zero Sugar variant bucked my system and proved to be outliers in both the realm of vanilla and cream sodas. These are excellent drinks that should totally be sought out this holiday season. While I didn't have the chance to try them in can or bottled form — which I'm sure are just lovely — I wholeheartedly recommend trying them first and foremost from the tap at your nearest Coca-Cola Freestyle machine. This is one new holiday tradition that I hope returns next year, and every year thereafter. Happy (early) holidays!