Every Buffalo Wild Wings Flavor, Ranked

 Will buffalo sauce reign supreme?

 Since Buffalo Wild Wings first opened its doors in Columbus, Ohio in 1982, the fast-casual titan has redefined what it means to be a chain restaurant in America. By combining all things boozy and fried with a command center’s worth of HD televisions for watching sports, Buffalo Wild Wings has quickly become one of America's most ubiquitous chains.

Of course, none of this would’ve been possible without B-Dubs’ wings, sauces, and seasonings. Whether your preference is spicy, sweet, or something in between, Buffalo Wild Wings has you covered. But as the company’s name suggests, these aren’t your average wings—they’re wild wings. This qualification raises the question: Which of the chain’s 22 sauces and seasonings is truly the wildest? We set out to answer this question, establishing once and for all what it means to be wild.

So how does one qualify wildness? There’s, of course, a spice component, but it’s a secondary quality when assessing. When we talk wildness, we’re looking at three distinct criteria:

1. The Flavor Level: How much punch a sauce or seasoning packs in each bite is one of the keys to determining wildness. Sure, a wing can deliver tons of spice, but can it also bring the BBQ or garlic or curry advertised in its name, too?
2. Unexpected Elements and Flavor Combos: This component measures how well certain flavors in sauces go together, as well as accounts for anything hitting the taste buds that’s either unexpectedly good or bad that wasn’t advertised.
3. How Well Its Name Represents It: No one likes a deceptive sauce (especially if that sweetly titled sauce ends up scorching your tongue instead), so we also included a grade for sauces and seasonings based on how accurately they’re named.

And now, without further ado, every Buffalo Wild Wing flavor, ranked by wildness.

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 Buffalo seasoning

We have to give kudos to Buffalo Wild Wings for taking the classic Buffalo sauce and forming it into a rub—it’s an outside-the-box concept that we salute it for attempting. While it does evoke the taste of Buffalo sauce (despite being a tad garlicky), it, unfortunately, makes us wonder why we’d settle for the drier, gristlier version of hot sauce.

 Honey BBQ

The honey BBQ sauce is rich in color and has a nice smoky flavor. However, the wing was too sweet and viscous for it to rank higher on the wildness scale. It’s almost as if the “honey” portion of the name was the only ingredient emphasized in the sauce.

 Bourbon honey mustard

Much like the Buffalo seasoning, we dig the idea behind bourbon honey mustard, as it serves as a twist on a traditionally sweet chicken wing coating. However, what prevents it from being at the top of the class is its overly mustard-y bite, which obscures the bourbon that’s supposedly included.

Teriyaki

The biggest thing to know about Buffalo Wild Wings’ take on teriyaki is that the name is vaguely accurate. While it hits the basic flavor points, teriyaki obsessives (we’re looking at you, Seattle) will be disappointed that this iteration isn’t the platonic ideal of the sauce: It packs too much ginger and sweetness while skimping on the sesame and umami.