20 Worst Drinks in America Part 3

9. Worst Hot Chocolate

Starbucks White Hot Chocolate with Whipped Cream (venti, 20 fl oz)

520 calories
16 g fat (11 g saturated)
75 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 9 Strawberry Rice Krispie Treats

See that stack of Rice Krispie Treats? It’s just three treats shy of two full boxes. Unless you were a contestant on Fear Factor—and there was a sizeable monetary prize on the line—you’d never even consider noshing down that much sugar at once. But here’s what’s interesting: While that stack is the sugar counterpart to this atrocity from Starbucks, it still has 40 percent less saturated fat. Makes us wonder what’s going on in the hot chocolate. Stick to beverages with single-flavor profiles instead of pile-on recipes like this and you’ll fare better every time.

Drink This Instead!

Hot Chocolate with Nonfat Milk (grande, 16 fl oz)

240 calories
2.5 g fat (0.5 g saturated)
40 g sugars

8. Worst Frozen Mocha

Così Double Oh! Arctic Mocha (gigante, 23 fl oz)

662 calories
26 g fat (15 g saturated)
88 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 19 Oreo Cookies

The good news here is that this drink used to be twice as bad - and used to contain as much sugar as in 41 Oreo Cookies (pictured). The bad news is that even though it's halved the calories, it's still a piece of work. A frozen mocha will never be a stellar option, but we’ve still never come across anything that competes with this cookie-coffee-milkshake hybrid from Così. Essentially it’s a mocha Blizzard made with Oreo cookies and topped with whipped cream and an oversize Oreo. The result is a beverage with more calories than two Big Macs and more sugar than any other drink in America.

Drink This Instead!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Smoothie (12 oz)

316 calories
12 g fat (8 g saturated)
37 g sugars

7. Worst Frozen Coffee Drink

Dairy Queen Caramel MooLatte (24 fl oz)

870 calories
24 g fat (19 g saturated, 1 g trans)
112 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 12 Dunkin’ Donuts Bavarian Kreme Doughnuts

Coffee-dessert hybrids are among the worst breed of beverages. This one delivers 1 gram of fat and 4.6 grams of sugar in every ounce, making even Starbucks’ over-the-top line of Frappuccinos look like decent options. Maybe that’s why DQ decided to give it a name that alludes to the animal it promises to turn you into. If you can bring yourself to skip DQ and head to a coffee shop instead, order a large iced latte with a couple shots of flavored syrup and save some 600 calories. But if you’re stuck where you are, you’re better off pairing a small treat with a regular cup of joe.

Drink This Instead!

Small Chocolate Ice Cream Cone with a Medium Cup of Coffee

240 calories
7 g fat (5 g saturated)
25 g sugars

6. Worst Margarita

Traditional Red Lobster Lobsterita (24 fl oz)

890 calories
0 g fat
183 g carbohydrates

Carbohydrate Equivalent: 7 Almond Joy candy bars

Of all the egregious beverages we’ve analyzed, the Lobsterita surprised us the most. The nation’s biggest fish purveyor is one of the few big players in the restaurant biz to provide its customers with a wide selection of truly healthy food options. We would hope they’d do the same with the beverages, but obviously not. Drink one of these every Friday night and you’ll put on more than a pound of flab each month. Downgrade to a regular margarita on the rocks and pocket the remaining 640 calories.

Drink This Instead!

Red Lobster Classic Margarita on the Rocks

250 calories
0 g fat
22 g carbohydrates

5. Worst Float

Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream Soda (vanilla ice cream and cola) (large, 28.6 fl oz)

960 calories
40 g fat (25 g saturated, 1.5 g trans)
136 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 9.7 Fudgsicle fudge bars

Done right, an ice cream float can be a decent route to indulgence. Go to A&W and you’ll land a medium for fewer than 400 calories. Order it with diet soda and you’ve dropped below 200 calories. So why can’t Baskin-Robbins make even a small float with fewer than 470 calories? Because apparently the chain approaches the art of beverage-crafting as a challenge to squeeze in as much fat and sugar as possible. Whatever you order, plan on splitting it with a friend.

Drink This Instead!

Ice Cream Float (vanilla ice cream and root beer) (small, 16.9 fl oz)

470 calories
20 g fat (13 g saturated, 0.5 g trans)
68 g sugars