Trader Joe's Pumpkin & Spice Brioche Liège Waffles

Trader Joe's Pumpkin & Spice Brioche Style Liège Waffles debuted last year, I believe. We weren't able to pick up a pack in 2025, however we made a successful attempt on our last TJ's run just last month. This product will run you $4.49 for six individually-wrapped waffles imported from Belgium.

This is my least favorite of the Brioche Style Liège Waffles so far and one of my least favorite pumpkin products in a while. I'm not sure what it is, really. Too much pumpkin puree? Too much clove? Too much...something.

We still have the same convenient format. Same size. Same shape. Unlike its predecessors though, I found this variety nearly inedible straight from the package. I thought the original (plain) Brioche Liège Waffles were especially good when eaten at room temperature right out of the wrapper. These pumpkin ones are significantly better dressed up, IMO. Toss 'em in the toaster, slather them with butter and syrup, and suddenly we're looking at a fairly pleasant breakfast.

On their own, that "pumpkin spice" flavor is just too dominant. There’s something almost savory-adjacent about it, or maybe it’s the combination of pumpkin puree and whatever assortment of pumpkin pie spices they’ve got going on here. I’m getting a lot more clove than I’d prefer. Sonia thinks it doesn't taste enough like the warm pumpkin pie type spices she's used to. I think we both wanted more cinnamon and sugar on a product like this and less squash.

Also check out:

Trader Joe's Brioche Style Liège Waffles

Trader Joe's Maple Brioche Style Liège Waffles

Trader Joe's Strawberry Brioche Style Liège Waffles

Stay tuned for a review of the chocolate chip variety.

Sonia likes these least of all as well, although she'll be a bit more lenient on the scoring. She'll spring for seven out of ten stars, and she's generally a fan of all things pumpkin spice. I'm going with six out of ten. Not awful, but I, personally, wouldn't buy Trader Joe's Pumpkin & Spice Brioche Style Liège Waffles again.

Sonia's score: 7 out of 10.

Nathan's score: 6 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Everything But the Bartender Paloma

It's a bonus weekend review! Not something we do very often, but I figure why not? Neither the beautiful wifey nor I have ever had a paloma before, though we've frequently had all the ingredients on hand and could've made one ourselves many times over. It's grapefruit juice, lime juice, tequila, sparkling water, and salt. It's essentially a margarita made with grapefruit juice instead of orange liqueur.

And Trader Joe's Everything But the Bartender Paloma is most definitely sweet—nearly syrupy sweet with agave. Sonia was surprised how sweet it is. I'd say it's pretty much on par with the sweetness level of Trader Joe's Everything But the Bartender Lime Margarita, reviewed just last year on this blog. I kind of like the grapefruit twist, to be honest. I never even knew a grapefruit margarita was a thing, and I certainly didn't know it was called a "paloma."

Sonia wishes it were less sweet but also admits that once her ice melts about halfway, it's just about perfect. She likes it just a tad more than the above-mentioned margarita. I'd have to agree. Looks like the Cosmopolitan is Sonia's favorite out of the three, while I'd have to say it's my least favorite. We've also reviewed Trader Joe's Everything But the Bartender Gin & Tonic.

The format of these Everything But the Bartender drinks is quite convenient, and there's no guesswork as far as mixing ratios or anything like that. In this case, each drink winds up costing about two and a half bucks, so you're talking about way less money than you'd drop if you were buying something like this at a bar or a club. They err on the side of sweet rather than stiff or strong or bitter.

$9.99 for the four pack of 200 mL cans. 15% alcohol by volume. I think this is more of a summer libation than an autumn one, but it was still on shelves as of our big TJ's run last month. Might buy again. I'm glad they actually show the ingredients since alcoholic beverages are not required to do so, and they genuinely look like very high quality contents. Eight out of ten stars from both Sonia and me for Trader Joe's Everything But the Bartender Paloma.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.