What does a Grimace Shake taste like? Ingredients explored as viral TikTok trend sweeps social media

McDonald's recently released its Grimace Shake and it has taken the internet by storm. The shake is a creamy concoction inspired by "Grimace’s iconic color and sweetness,” according to the brand's website. The TikTokers who tried it have confirmed that the shake tastes sweet and berry-like. According to the Food Network, it tastes like berry-flavored cereal milk that has sprinkles and frosting mixed in it.

Grimace is an evil-turned-sweet purple-colored character from Mcdonald's ads. The shake was introduced to celebrate his 52nd birthday as part of the Grimace Birthday meal on June 12, 2023.

Since then, fans have taken to TikTok to create various memes based on the Grimace Shake. One of the most popular trends is where TikTokers take a sip of their Grimace Shake and then collapse on the floor, indicating being poisoned. The background typically shows a crime scene (now being called “Grime Scene”) and has people calling out Grimace as “Griminal” for the crime he has committed.

There have also been other memes that show people pretending to be possessed by Grimace after drinking the shake. People have also been visiting McDonald’s stores cosplaying (by painting themselves purple) as Grimace.

---

The now-viral drink is made from “Grimace Shake Syrup”

For those unaware, the character, Grimace was born in 1971 as part of a McDonald’s ad campaign. He was introduced as a purple-looking McDonaldland character who was Ronald McDonald’s best friend. Grimace was part of the entire circle including Captain Crook and Hamburglar.

Initially, he was represented as a big and fuzzy blob having four arms, and stealing milkshakes from customers. Soon, however, the villain turned into a shake-loving guy, well known for sharing his shakes with his friends and spreading joy.

In fact, since then, Grimace fans have known that he spent his birthdays at McDonald’s splurging on milkshakes. This year, in honor of the character’s 52nd birthday, the fast-food giant introduced a purple-colored shake, that is both creamy and sugary. The menu mentions that it is made from vanilla reduced-fat ice cream and a special “Grimace Shake Syrup.”

When the limited-edition purple shake was introduced, many experts thought it was Ube-flavoured. Ube is a Filipino native, a nutty purplish sweet potato, one that makes an appearance in cheesecakes, waffles, cookies, and even ice creams.

Unfortunately, McDonald’s has been hush-hush about the ingredients in the shake except for the vanilla reduced-fat ice cream and “Grimace Shake Syrup” part. Needless to say, that has raised curiosity among fans.

Cleveland.com has stated that there is nothing particular in the ingredients of Grimace Shake Syrup that gives out any clues about its creamy and sweet flavor. However, the experts have concluded that it comprises sugar, water, corn syrup, and a “natural flavor” that seems to be coming from berries. This was recently confirmed by a company spokesperson during the Today Show.

A specialist at cleveland.com named Joey Morona has also said that the Grimace Shake was neither too thick nor too runny but had the exact creamy texture with a sweet touch. He initially speculated that the shake contained grape jelly but later gave up on that view.

Instead, he concluded it had whipped cream on top, vanilla ice cream at the bottom, and a purple midsection that may be cereal milk or birthday cake.

“Someone dropped a Wild Berry Pop Tart into a fairly standard vanilla milkshake and then hit the pulverize button on the blender,” he said describing the shake.

Interestingly, the Grimace Birthday with Special Meal and Shake contains either Big Mac or 10-piece Chicken McNuggets alongside fries and the Grimace Shake. It is priced at $12.79 for the Big Mac choice and $13.49 for the McNuggets option. The offer is for a limited time only.

It is worth noting that #grimaceshake has had 142 million views on TikTok.