SheSpeaks Blog Event brings you: Torani Holiday Flavors, Salted Caramel & Gingerbread

'Tis the season for sugary sweets, savory eats, and toasty, warm drinks rich in flavor and, sadly high in calories. What's a harried shopper to do when there's a high-brow coffee chain on every corner dangling their latest holiday-inspired yummers in your chilly little face?

Torani has your answer. Torani Gingerbread Sugar-Free and Torani Salted Carmel Sugar-Free syrups, just asking for a warm cider or hot coffee to be lovingly dropped into. I was fortunate enough to try these syrups, courtesy of SheSpeaks. So sit back, bundle up and dig in to this review.



I must say of the bat, I'm usually not a fan of "sugar free" things, mostly due to the artificial sweeteners (this product contains Splenda) that give you a funky aftertaste or worse, change the intended flavor entirely. So I approached this with some trepidation, but kept an open mind. So when I dipped my pinkie into the Torani Salted Carmel Sugar-Free syrup, imagine my surprise when I was met with the same rich flavor one expects from such a decadent confection-inspired treat. It was rich, warm, with just a touch of a salty aftertaste. I could imagine drizzling this over ice cream, or giving a little kick to a hot chocolate. With little to no "splenda" taste to ruffle my feathers, I can easily see this syrup being put into regular rotation in my kitchen. It seemed to do wonders for my after-dinner coffee as well, so it didn't change with heating, thankfully. A real winner here, and with it being sugar-free, I can enjoy this with much less guilt than I would one of those coffee-chain liquid desserts we all know and love.



Now, the other flavor I received was the Torani Gingerbread Sugar-Free syrup. As much as I enjoyed the Salted Carmel Sugar-Free flavor, I must say that Gingerbread was a let down. I had extremely high hopes, as gingerbread in this house is a holiday staple, and the thought of a hot gingerbread coffee with frothed milk and sprinkles evaporated like so many sugarplum dreams after my first smell. It's just...off. And, sadly, the Splenda is right there. There's no denying that this has a sugar substitute, and you can tell right away. It's a shame, really, because there would have been so much I could have done with this, and now it's just 750ml of ick. I didn't taste it beyond the initial finger dip, it was that off-putting.

So, Torani Syrups is batting .500 with these seasonal flavors. Which usually isn't bad, but Torani Syrups have a permanent place in my pantry, and I usually trust them implicitly to deliver. I can say I will be picking up an extra Torani Sugar-Free Salted Carmel just in case, and because they're shelf-stable, I know I can count on the flavor to deliver for months and months.  Anyone up for some whipped cream that has a Salted Caramel flavor?  I am!  Oh, the possibilities of baked goods that I will make into a reality!  Happy Holidays Everyone!!

Thanks, SheSpeaks, for the opportunity to try these products.