We took the 'Hot Ones' challenge, and the spicy wings of death weren't as unbearable as we feared they'd be

Olivia Singh,Callie Ahlgrim,Palmer Haasch,Libby TorresJan 14, 2024, 07:32 IST

From left: Insider reporters Olivia Singh, Libby Torres, Callie Ahlgrim, and Palmer Haasch during the "Hot Ones" challenge.Courteney Larocca/Insider

Four members of Insider's entertainment team took on the "Hot Ones" challenge.
Surprisingly, most of the 10 sauces in the season 22 lineup weren't as spicy as we anticipated.

I, Olivia Singh, and three of my teammates —Libby Torres, Callie Ahlgrim, and Palmer Haasch — decided to test our spice tolerance by taking on the "Hot Ones" challenge.

From left to right: Olivia Singh, Libby Torres, Callie Ahlgrim, and Palmer Haasch.Courteney Larocca/Insider

I, Olivia Singh, and three of my teammates —Libby Torres, Callie Ahlgrim, and Palmer Haasch — decided to test our spice tolerance by taking on the "Hot Ones" challenge.

We started by recreating the "Hot Ones" setup, from the black tablecloths to the pitchers of milk and water.

We conducted our "Hot Ones" challenge in a conference room at our New York office.Courteney Larocca/Insider

The Heatonist team sent us the official season 22 lineup of sauces for our challenge.

The first episode of season 22 of "Hot Ones" premiered on September 21.Olivia Singh/Insider

We coated our boneless chicken wings using the "Hot Ones" method.

We coated 40 boneless chicken wings in hot sauces.Courteney Larocca/Insider

As we meticulously sauced the wings, the room was overtaken by the various aromas of the different hot condiments.

The room smelled good, at first.Courteney Larocca/Insider

Once the coating was complete, we placed the wings on wooden boards.

We tried to replicate the aesthetics of the "Hot Ones" experience as best as we could.Courteney Larocca/Insider

Before diving in, we gauged all the contestants' comfort levels when it comes to spicy food.

We had varying degrees of comfort with hot sauces.Courteney Larocca/Insider

With everything in place, we were excited to start the challenge.

Here we are at the start of the "Hot Ones" challenge.Courteney Larocca/Insider

Our 25-minute "Hot Ones" journey began with the classic Buffalo sauce.

The first sauce in the season 22 lineup is a Buffalo sauce.Courteney Larocca/Insider

Next, we moved on to Angry Goat Pepper Co's blistered shishito and garlic hot sauce.

The second sauce in the season 22 lineup contains blistered shishito mash and dried minced garlic.Courteney Larocca/Insider

The third sauce was also quite mild but with a surprising sweetness.

The third sauce in the season 22 lineup has a passion-fruit flavor.Courteney Larocca/Insider

Los Calientes Barbacoa, developed by "Hot Ones," also had a reasonable heat level.

The third and fourth sauces were bearable.Courteney Larocca/Insider

The fifth sauce, Djablo's Power Jab hot sauce, packed a punch.

The fifth sauce in the season 22 lineup contains serrano pepper, Thai chile flake, and dried scorpion pepper.Courteney Larocca/Insider

We kicked off the second half of the lineup with the Whiskey Smoked Ghost by Marshall's Haute Sauce.

The sixth sauce in the season 22 lineup contains apple-cider vinegar and Uncle Nearest 1856 whiskey.Courteney Larocca/Insider

As we moved on to sauce No. 7, Ginger Goat's Tropic Star hot sauce, we took a moment to applaud ourselves for making it this far, largely unscathed.

The seventh sauce in the season 22 lineup features ginger and lemongrass.Courteney Larocca/Insider

Then we arrived at Da Bomb's Evolution hot sauce and things started to go downhill.

Da Bomb's hot sauce is no joke.Courteney Larocca/Insider

The heat kept coming in increasingly worse waves and I tapped out.

I couldn't handle the heat.Courteney Larocca/Insider

We looked over at Libby and noticed that she had gone non-verbal.

Libby suffered in silence.Courteney Larocca/Insider

Sauce No. 9, Zuzu 7-Pot by Dawson's Hot Sauce, was a welcome reprieve from the harsh spice of the Da Bomb Evolution.

The ninth sauce in the season 22 lineup has a base of red bell pepper.Courteney Larocca/Insider

Before eating the final wing, we put a little extra sauce on it per the "Hot Ones" tradition.

The final sauce in the season 22 lineup is called The Last Dab: Xperience.Courteney Larocca/Insider

The effects were instantaneous, but not as unbearable as expected.

Palmer's ears turned red.Courteney Larocca/Insider

Callie, meanwhile, was unfazed and glowing.

Callie was fine.Courteney Larocca/Insider

We were shocked that a majority of the hot sauces weren't as spicy as we thought they'd be.

Here were are at the end of our "Hot Ones" journey.Courteney Larocca/Insider

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We took the 'Hot Ones' challenge, and the spicy wings of death weren't as unbearable as we feared they'd be

I, Olivia Singh, and three of my teammates —Libby Torres, Callie Ahlgrim, and Palmer Haasch — decided to test our spice tolerance by taking on the "Hot Ones" challenge.

We started by recreating the "Hot Ones" setup, from the black tablecloths to the pitchers of milk and water.

The Heatonist team sent us the official season 22 lineup of sauces for our challenge.

We coated our boneless chicken wings using the "Hot Ones" method.

As we meticulously sauced the wings, the room was overtaken by the various aromas of the different hot condiments.

Once the coating was complete, we placed the wings on wooden boards.

Before diving in, we gauged all the contestants' comfort levels when it comes to spicy food.

With everything in place, we were excited to start the challenge.

Our 25-minute "Hot Ones" journey began with the classic Buffalo sauce.

Next, we moved on to Angry Goat Pepper Co's blistered shishito and garlic hot sauce.

The third sauce was also quite mild but with a surprising sweetness.

Los Calientes Barbacoa, developed by "Hot Ones," also had a reasonable heat level.

The fifth sauce, Djablo's Power Jab hot sauce, packed a punch.

We kicked off the second half of the lineup with the Whiskey Smoked Ghost by Marshall's Haute Sauce.

As we moved on to sauce No. 7, Ginger Goat's Tropic Star hot sauce, we took a moment to applaud ourselves for making it this far, largely unscathed.

Then we arrived at Da Bomb's Evolution hot sauce and things started to go downhill.

The heat kept coming in increasingly worse waves and I tapped out.

We looked over at Libby and noticed that she had gone non-verbal.

Sauce No. 9, Zuzu 7-Pot by Dawson's Hot Sauce, was a welcome reprieve from the harsh spice of the Da Bomb Evolution.

Before eating the final wing, we put a little extra sauce on it per the "Hot Ones" tradition.

The effects were instantaneous, but not as unbearable as expected.

Callie, meanwhile, was unfazed and glowing.

We were shocked that a majority of the hot sauces weren't as spicy as we thought they'd be.