McDonald's Customers Are Grimacing at the Mystery Grimace Shake Flavor

Usually, when McDonald’s introduces a limited edition meal, it’s modeled after famous celebrities like Saweetie or husband and wife Offset and Cardi B. But in June 2023, McDonald's released a new meal created to celebrate one of their own: Grimace.

For those who need a refresher on Grimace, he is the extremely round, extremely plump, purple friend of Ronald McDonald. You may remember him from past ads and campaigns. He's a very friendly fellow.

Given his popularity, the chain decided to celebrate his birthday with customers with the Grimace Birthday Meal.

This special meal comes with the choice of a Big Mac or a 10-piece McNuggets, and fries. It also includes "a limited-edition purple shake inspired by Grimace’s iconic color and sweetness," reads a press release from the chain.

I don't know about you, but it's not every day that you hear about a purple shake. And the fact that McDonald's is only referring to it as the "purple shake" has us more intrigued. What flavor could this shake be? We investigate below.

The McDonald's Grimace Birthday Meal shake hit stores on June 12, 2023, in honor of the iconic character's birthday. Unfortunately, the chain decided to keep the shake's flavor a surprise, although we do know it is the color purple just like its namesake.

Since it may feel a little silly to order a drink that you don't know if you will like, we took a peak at Twitter to see if anyone had spilled the deets on the frosty treat. Luckily, there were some daring Grimace superfans who helped us unlock the mystery flavor.

"Had to go to @McDonalds and try Grimace’s shake. It’s good. Like berry and vanilla? Almost a light Trix flavor to it," tweeted one satisfied customer.

Another person wrote: "Grimace’s birthday meal was delicious! The berry shake was very similar to wildberry pop tarts! Happy Birthday, Grimace!"

Several other users also confirmed that it is a combination of berry and vanilla.

But while many folks found it to be tasty, others weren't too keen on the flavor. "Happy birthday Grimace, but I'm sorry to say your shake is gross as s--t, dude," opined one customer.

Another added that it was "overly sweet" and that they were "still burping it up an hour later."

One person even wrote that when they ordered it, the cashier told them that it hadn't been ordered all day.

And one Twitter user teased that they had the shake and it sent them to the hospital. However, there are no actual reports confirming that any customers got sick from drinking it.

You can get the Grimace Birthday Meal and Shake at participating McDonald's restaurants nationwide while supplies last.

As for how long the shake will available to order, it was released on June 12, 2023. While the chain doesn't give a hard end date, the chain's Saweetie and Offset and Cardi B meals both ran for about four weeks each, per the Krazy Coupon Lady.

That said, we can assume that the Grimace Birthday meal will be around for about a month.

One issue with the shake (other than the flavor) that customers have been vocal about is the fact that you cannot order it alone. You can only order the shake with the Grimace Birthday Meal. And as one user noted above, this meal will cost you between $17 and $19.