Summer is right around the corner, and Shake Shack is heading into the season by releasing their new seasonal shakes for the summer, as well as introducing several new menu items. Besides the three new shakes, there are two new burgers, two new chicken sandwiches, two new fry varieties and seven new drinks, all available for a limited time. The new burgers and sandwiches are Smoky Classic and Carolina Barbeque. The barbeque burgers were available last summer, but the chicken sandwiches are a new addition for 2025. The real highlight though, is the restaurant’s namesake products, the handspun milkshakes. The summer flavors available are the Campfire S’mores Shake, Banana Pudding Shake and the OREO® Cookie Funnel Cake Shake.
The Campfire S’mores shake is described as “vanilla frozen custard hand-spun with graham cracker, chocolate and toasted marshmallow fudge chunks, topped with whipped cream and s’more crumbles.” Visually, the shake does not appear to be a vanilla custard as it has a light brown color. The shake has chocolate bits and marshmallow fudge chunks mixed throughout. It tastes similar to their regular chocolate shake but less rich and more sweet. While the ice cream itself is vanilla, the chocolate bits throughout transform the flavor to a light hint of chocolate. The marshmallow fudge accurately captures the intended flavor and the chocolate chunks and fudge offer textural variation to the shake, a win for all those who love a good flavorful crunch in their shakes. It is important to note that due to the weight of the chocolate bits and the fudge, they sink to the bottom very easily, which creates a giant pile at the bottom when you finish drinking. Some may call this a flaw, while some may say the extra bits on the bottom are just part of the fun. Overall, the Campfire S’mores shake gets a four and a half degree burn out of five.
Next is the Banana Pudding shake. The website describes the shake as “banana pudding frozen custard made with real banana, hand-spun with vanilla wafer cookies, topped with whipped cream and vanilla wafer cookie crumble.” The shake is a nice pastel yellow color with speckles of brown from the wafer. The wafer in the shake doesn’t have a crunch to it, but more of a cakey texture instead. The flavor of the banana is slightly artificial, but not jarringly so. Even for people who do not enjoy bananas, the shake still has much to offer. With that, the banana pudding shake gets five banana peel-based car accidents out of five.
Finally is the Oreo Funnel Cake shake, which is described as “OREO® Cookies and funnel cake crunch hand-spun with vanilla frozen custard, topped with whipped cream and OREO Cookie crumbles.” This is a returning flavor that was previously available in 2022 for their summer/pride flavors. In the past, the drink was topped with a chocolate whipped cream. Visually, the shake is very similar to the permanent menu item, the Oreo shake, with a more brown colored base than the usual cream. With just the first sip you will immediately be hit with the taste of a summer carnival. It perfectly captures funnel cake, some could compare the flavor to a fried Oreo, and the Oreo flavor is a bit lighter than the funnel cake flavor. The shake is very creamy and has a texture similar to the filling of an Oreo. While a drink of the same title has been offered on the menu before, this version captures the essence of a funnel cake much better than the previous renditions. Drinking this shake will transport you to sunset time at your local amusement park or fair, sharing a deep-fried dessert with your son, sitting together in joyful silence. This shake gets five days with dad out of five.
The seasonal shakes perfectly encapsulate the essence of summer, from sitting around a campfire, to deep-fried desserts at the county fair. These are a perfect treat to celebrate your new co-op or ending finals, or just because you want a good milkshake.