I Ate Every Flavor of Wings at Jim’s Wings: The Definitive Ranking

Jim’s Wings is a Fort Collins and Northern Colorado staple to many. Open since 1991, Jim’s has a storied history of providing amazing service and food to the community. Jim’s has a wide variety of flavors from Honey Barbeque to Teriyaki, along with traditional Buffalo flavors with ranging heat from mild to “Ram Hot.”

Myself, along with several of my friends, decided to try every single wing flavor at Jim’s to find the best flavor. We decided to tackle this endeavor on a Sunday evening and in order to ensure a fair and equitable ranking I established a secure process:

Water is the only beverage I will drink, and I will drink in between each flavor of wing.

To cleanse my palate between flavors, I will eat some carrots or celery with Ranch.

Additionally, I started with the variety flavors like Lemon Pepper and Barbeque and then moved to the hot Buffalo in ascending heat order. Now, let’s dive into the rankings from worst to best:

13. Ram Hot
This is the hottest tier of Buffalo. When they brought out Ram Hot, it was immediately so strong that it burned to smell it. This was a flavor that was so hot that it just wasn’t enjoyable. At first it didn’t even burn, but it slowly built and became hotter and hotter. I wish I could say that there was a flavor, but there was just heat. 5/10

12. Teriyaki
Teriyaki was all right. The sauce was runny, and I feel like it left a lot to be desired. Ultimately, I was very disappointed by this flavor and was expecting more. 5.5/10

11. Yakitori
Yakitori was similar to Teriyaki. The sauce was weak and lacked a lot of flavor. In the end, it was a stronger wing than Teriyaki, but for both of them, I had higher expectations 6/10

10. Mild
Mild was a solid Buffalo wing just without any heat whatsoever. Strong vinegar and butter flavor but mild is an overstatement. 7/10

9. Way Hot
Exactly as one would expect given the name. This one was hot, but not too hot. An enjoyable, spicy, hot Buffalo wing. 7.5/10

8.Mango Habanero
I came into this wing with very low expectations. I was very surprised with the combination of sweet heat on this wing. Not too sweet, not too hot, or too much mango flavor–I liked this wing a lot. 7.5/10

7. Medium
Medium was a lot hotter than I expected, however it was not that hot. A pleasant Buffalo flavor and matched the expectations that I have had for most of the hot wings at this point. 7.5/10

6. X Hot
This wing matched my expectations. As I learned, all of the hot wings tasted the same, only differing in spice level. X Hot had the second best blend of the ratios of flavor to heat. 8/10

5. Barbeque
A classic Barbeque wing–I don’t think you can go wrong with this flavor. A good smoky and a hickory, sweet blend, this flavor is like bread and butter. 8/10

4. Hot
This was the best Buffalo wing. Hot was the perfect ratio of flavor to heat. I really liked the amount of heat, the flavor, and overall a very good Buffalo wing. 8.5/10

3. Garlic Parmesan
Garlic Parmesan had an amazing flavor. I really liked the blend of the two, with a strong but not overpowering garlic flavor. I don’t usually like Garlic Parmesan, but in this instance, it was one of my favorites. 8.5/10

2. Honey Barbeque
A step up from classic barbeque. Overall, it wasn’t mind-blowingly different from the normal Barbeque, but it added a depth and sweetness that wasn’t present in the classic while maintaining the smokiness-hickory flavor. 9/10

1. Lemon Pepper
This is the best flavor at Jim’s Wings. I really liked the dry lemon pepper rub. It was different from the wet sauce in all of the other flavors and it was a really great wing. The pepper and the citrus blended great, making my favorite wing that I tried. 9.5/10

All in all, I enjoyed almost everything on this list, with the exception of Ram Hot. In each of the wings, we had five of each, and the grand total came out to $80.

Head on over to Jim’s Wings and let me know what your list is. Do you like the fiery burn of Ram Hot? Or do you prefer the sweet heat of Mango Habanero? This was a fun challenge; grab some friends and give it a try today!