I Can’t Stop Thinking About EPCOT’s Controversial New Milkshake

It’s been about a week since my life was forever changed by a pickle-flavored milkshake, and the flavor profiles of the green, dill-scented treat still call to me. In fact, the next time I visit Walt Disney World Resort to attend the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival, I can guarantee I’ll purchase the pickle milkshake again. After all, finding a dessert that’s so intriguing is kind of a big dill.

New to this year’s Food and Wine Festival, which runs through November 18 at EPCOT, the pickle milkshake is served at the Brew-Wing Lab at the Odyssey, a muppet-themed restaurant featuring Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his silly assistant, Beaker. The lab also serves up “unnecessarily spicy” and peanut butter and jelly chicken wings, as well as some of the best plant-based Buffalo “chicken” tenders I’ve ever had. And don’t get me started on the Buffalo Brussels sprouts on the menu—let’s just say the spiciness pairs great with a green milkshake.

What Does a Pickle Milkshake Taste Like?

But the real star of this festival location, minus the fact that it’s indoors and offers air conditioning and seating, is the pickle milkshake. The savory-meets-sweet dessert item is bright green in color and topped with whipped cream, fresh dill, and chocolate sprinkles that mimic pickling spices. I was nervous to taste this new offering, but after seeing the cute plastic pickle jar it’s served in, I was powerless to resist.

I’m a big fan of pickles, and I wasn’t sure how combining a tart, perfectly seasoned dill pickle and ice cream would work, but I took a sip anyway. The flavors of the shake are surprisingly refreshing—at first sip, you get the flavor of fresh dill, followed by the sweetness of a vanilla milkshake, ending with a slight pickle-y tang. I’d describe the treat more as a dill milkshake since both the dill flavoring and the fresh dill topping make it more herb-forward than pickle-like. However, my husband found that he tasted a great deal of pickle brine tanginess at the shake’s finish.

Is the Pickle Milkshake the 2023 Food and Wine Festival’s Most Polarizing Offering?

My husband and I weren’t the only ones who slightly disagreed on our pickle milkshake tasting notes. Social media, especially Twitter, has been ablaze with comments about the shake’s flavor profile.

“IDK why but the pickle milkshake absolutely slaps,” wrote one Twitter user.

Others called the shake “thirst-quenching,” and even crave-worthy. “It’s been two days and I think I need another pickle milkshake,” Tweeted one taste tester.

Another festival-goer was underwhelmed, claiming, “I tried the pickle milkshake and, TBH, it doesn’t taste like pickle.”

Some who haven’t made it to the festival yet are eager to try it for themselves. “Am I terrified of the pickle milkshake? Yes,” one Disney fan tweeted. “Is it the first thing I will head for when I get to EPCOT Food and Wine? Also yes.”

Others aren’t so sure. “I’m not the biggest fan of pickles...but I am a huge fan of milkshakes,” said one Twitter user, “so I feel like this would end up being something I tolerate but not necessarily love.”

As the pickle shake debate rages on, presumably through the end of the festival, some homes are divided. “There are two types of people,” reads one post, which shows two taste-testers’ faces after taking a sip, “those who accept pickle milkshakes and those who hate pickle milkshakes. Guess which camps we fall in.” Maybe they'll be better off trying a pickle margarita or pickle soup instead.