A Trip to Millions of Milkshakes

Recently I have been hearing about and seeing ads for Millions of Milkshakes and found myself caught in the press, hype, and overall pandemonium for the shop. Whether I heard about them from celebrity blogs, mentioned on TMZ, or through a friend with a decaying sweet tooth, I just couldn’t get away from the talk about the best milkshakes in California.

While I am not a milkshake person, the marketer in me needed to know what was so amazing about a store selling a simple combination of "milk" and "shake" that it had celebrities like the Kardashian’s and Ron Artest (LA Lakers), over 10,000 followers on Twitter, and more than 2,000 check-ins on Facebook. I decided the only way to answer such a question was to find out for myself—and with a few friends of course.

To put the mass commotion to rest, two friends and I drove from Altadena to West Hollywood on Saturday. A 21-mile drive from one city to the other to try out a milkshake. Based on the pictures and videos, I was expecting to see a store massing half a block, but instead we were presented with a small shop that would probably fit no more than 30 people at a time before the fire department would be called.

Still skeptical, I checked out the menu. Literally, there were a million combinations to create a milkshake. Whether I wanted peanut butter, Oreo’s, gummy bears, marshmallows, caramel, sprinkles, or all of the above, I had the option to play with options to satisfy my desire. To make things more exciting, the milkshakes weren’t expensive. I was expecting to dig deep into my wallet to pay for the drink but the prices were reasonable when compared to similar stores.

When deciding which shake to choose, I was stuck between the Miley Cyrus shake (cookie dough and Reese's peanut butter cups) and the "Oreo Licious" shake (Oreo, chocolate syrup, and caramel). I made the executive decision and bought a small Miley Cyrus. When trying it my thought process changed drastically.

First sip: “Yes, that’s a milkshake”. Second sip, “Wow that’s pretty good”. Third sip, “Oh my gosh this is amazing!” Fourth to final sip: “Where’s my milkshake?” It was such a great milkshake, I couldn’t believe it. Although my experience drinking shakes may be limited, I can honestly say it was the best I ever had. It was so good that at some point between the cookie dough and peanut butter cup collaboration in my drink, I became a milkshake person.

My friends and I spent time sitting outside of the store drinking what was left of our shakes and catching the view of the city during the warm spring day. It was perfect; so much so that it has become one of my new summer destinations. After about 30 minutes of sipping and cracking jokes that only we would understand, we made our way to my car and drove back home.

Millions of Milkshakes is the type of place that you have to try simply because you have to find out if it’s worth the hype. The attention the store receives is well due because the concept isn’t overdone, the staff is entertaining, and the shakes are anything but simple. It’s important to know that, while a drive to Millions of Milkshakes is technically a 42 mile round trip from me, I already have days planned out when I will grab friends and get another Miley Cyrus. My gas tank will be filled up on Friday to make another trip for this weekend. In a nutshell, it’s worth it and if you’re skeptical about it, then there’s only one way to find out.