The Worst Wingstop Sauce Flavor We Tried Tasted Like Cough Syrup

When we do any sort of flavor ranking, one is bound to take last place, as that's just the nature of these sorts of things. And when we tried and ranked every Wingstop flavor, there was one that sank to last place in the 14th spot. Our taste testers originally had high hopes for this flavor, but one member of the group said that the wings tossed in this sauce "tasted like they were coated in kids cough medicine." Ouch.

The flavor in question? Hawaiian. Whereas the idea of Hawaiian anything vaguely summons the thought of sweet and tropical mixed with ingredients like soy sauce, Wingstop's Hawaiian sauce reads as artificial pineapple flavoring mixed with barbecue. This made for a less than enjoyable experience, so much so that it came in dead last when compared to everything else. 

It's also positioned similarly in other internet rankings, consistently ending up in the bottom third of other publications' opinions. It's not terribly often a fast food company admits defeat when it comes to its formulations, but sometimes a second pass is warranted. Notably, McDonald's lemonade got a much needed upgrade, and perhaps Wingstop should consider the same approach.

Wingstop describes its Hawaiian wing sauce as "a sweet and tangy blend of island citrus balanced with rich Asian flavors." That doesn't actually tell us too much, nor does Wingstop's website reveal the ingredients in the sauce anywhere. Our taste testers never did seem to pluck out any citrus notes, so if that's an actual factor in its flavor, it's not a defining one. And the term "Hawaiian" as a generic descriptor for a flavor doesn't exactly tell us anything either — there's no such thing as a "Hawaiian" wing sauce on other chain menus I scanned through, such as Buffalo Wild Wings or Slim Chickens.

My best guess is that it's a take on huli huli chicken, which is a Hawaiian barbecued chicken dish with a sauce made of soy sauce, ketchup, pineapple juice, ginger, and garlic, among other ingredients. But in our collective opinion, Wingstop took a swing and missed on this one, so maybe you're better off with our favorites, like the Lemon Pepper, Original Hot, or limited-time Sweet Chili Glaze. And honestly, making chicken wings at home is genuinely super easy (not to mention cheaper), and you don't even need a deep fryer to do it. Just mix up your own version of "Hawaiian" sauce, because it's got a pretty good chance of being much better.