WHISKEY'N'CLEAVERS

WHISKEY'N'CLEAVERS is a competition barbecue team with 11 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2016 and 2019. Their best overall finish is 4th of 53 at the Oinktoberfest (2017). They are ranked #2002 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

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At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#2,002

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1539

peak 1543 · rated over 11 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

May 28, 2016

latest Sep 21, 2019 · 3.3 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#747

Master 2017 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

2 podiums

Overall top-10s

36% of 11 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 41%

overall standings

Best overall

671.9088 / 720

Master · Oinktoberfest

Perfect 180s

Current form

654.40 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 643.93 (+10.47)

Walk rate

64%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

172.5600

Pork · Oinktoberfest

Consistency

±18.14

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 162.84 · weakest Brisket (160.18)

Road miles

1,392

across 11 mapped stops · furthest 230 mi

Schedule strength

24%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1533)

Purse competed for

$13K

listed at 2 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 1 state-championship entry

Master avg

643.93 / 720

11 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (8 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

Happy hunting ground

Top 13% average finish here

Oinktoberfest is their spot: an average finish in the top 13% across 3 visits.

3 visits
best finish 4th
average top 13%

They almost always walk

64% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 7 of 11 contests

A top-10 category call in 64% of their 11 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

671.9088 career-best overall

93.3% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 671.9088 at Oinktoberfest — 93.3% of a perfect 720.

Master
Sep 22, 2017

A tough matchup

8–1 behind in the head-to-head

SHORTSVILLE SMOKERS ahead in 89% of their meetings

SHORTSVILLE SMOKERS has come out ahead in 8 of their 9 shared contests.

A strong matchup

6–2 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 75% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of THE GOOD CUE CREW in 6 of their 8 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

7 of 9 shared chicken entries lost

SHORTSVILLE SMOKERS ahead 78% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, SHORTSVILLE SMOKERS has out-cooked them in 7 of 9 shared chicken entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

BURNING COAL BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.

Show 1 more storyline

A September team

Top 16% average finish in September

Something about September: average finish in the top 16% across 4 contests, versus top 41% the rest of the year.

4 September contests
top 41% the rest of the year

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Year	Series	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2019 ↗	Master	#872 (323 pts)	#979 (288 pts)	#985 (298 pts)	#929 (318 pts)	#837 (378 pts)
2018 ↗	Master	#1354 (165 pts)	#1780 (110 pts)	#1771 (110 pts)	#1754 (115 pts)	#1388 (175 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#747 (504 pts)	#781 (509 pts)	#890 (439 pts)	#701 (594 pts)	#786 (494 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#1060 (300 pts)	#1274 (250 pts)	#992 (365 pts)	#1345 (235 pts)	#1425 (205 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to WHISKEY'N'CLEAVERS, each with one reason worth a look.

74 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

EGGSTRA POINT BBQ

#1,988 of the rated field

1539 power rating

Contests: 12
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 8%
Peak: 1539

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 12 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 12 contests
last seen May 1, 2015

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Dos Toros BBQ Team

#2,006 of the rated field

1539 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 45%
Peak: 1539

Careers of much the same size, 11 contests to 11, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 10 contests
last seen Aug 29, 2025

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BOURBON SMOKE BBQ

#2,005 of the rated field

1539 power rating

Contests: 13
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 23%
Peak: 1539

13 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 23% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 13 contests
last seen Oct 13, 2017

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GOLDEN SMOKE BBQ

#2,003 of the rated field

1539 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1539

Level with WHISKEY'N'CLEAVERS on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 9 contests
last seen Aug 23, 2019

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C & J BACKYARD SMOKERS

#1,994 of the rated field

1539 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 21%
Peak: 1540

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 14 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 14 contests
last seen Sep 27, 2019

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MANNY'S BBQ

#2,010 of the rated field

1538 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 29%
Peak: 1538

Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 3 years before WHISKEY'N'CLEAVERS's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 14 contests

⚔ Compare careers

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
TRANQUIL CARNIVORES	9	3	6	33%	⚔ compare
BEHIND BBQ	9	3	6	33%	⚔ compare
SHORTSVILLE SMOKERS	9	1	8	11%	⚔ compare
THE GOOD CUE CREW	8	6	2	75%	⚔ compare
MEAN MOE'S BBQ	8	4	4	50%	⚔ compare
SKARA OLD SCHOOL BBQ	7	5	2	71%	⚔ compare
SIBLING RIVALRY	7	4	3	57%	⚔ compare
Cousin's Catering and BBQ	7	4	3	57%	⚔ compare
SMOKIN BOYS AND HOT GRILLS	7	2	5	29%	⚔ compare
BOYMEETSGRILL	6	6	0	100%	⚔ compare
HANGING BELLIES BBQ	6	4	2	67%	⚔ compare
Q+BREW	6	3	3	50%	⚔ compare
GOOD SMOKE BBQ	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
BUTTS & LINKS BBQ	5	5	0	100%	⚔ compare
SHOP BOYS BBQ	5	4	1	80%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	11	2	0	169.1544	152.4684	162.84	top 43%
Pork Ribs	11	1	1	170.8228	140.5028	160.38	top 44%
Pork	11	3	1	172.5600	146.2400	160.54	top 46%
Brisket	11	3	0	169.6800	145.0744	160.18	top 43%

“Calls” = top-10 category finishes (getting called to the stage). Scores here are the final weighted totals KCBS publishes; per-criterion appearance/taste/tenderness marks aren’t in the public results feed.

By field size and state

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	1	top 59%
Medium (20–39)	2	top 75%
Large (40+)	8	top 31%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
NY	5	top 24%
ON	4	top 60%
CA	1	top 32%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Oinktoberfest	3	4	0	top 13%	Sep 21, 2019

More numbers

Busiest season 2017 4 contests

Contests a season 2.8 across 4 seasons in the data

Most contests held in NY 5 of 11 contests · 3 states and provinces in all

Contests visited 9 1 of them more than once

Opponents faced 206 finished ahead 284 times, behind 153

Longest layoff 1 yrs Sep 22, 2017 → Sep 22, 2018

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

20193 milestones

May 25 Peak power rating (1543) Capital BBQ Festival
Aug 23 10th tracked contest Summer Daze BBQ Classic
Sep 21 Most recent contest Oinktoberfest

20174 milestones

Jun 3 First call Craze Fest
Jun 3 First overall top-10 Craze Fest
Sep 22 Career-best overall score671.9088 Oinktoberfest
Sep 22 Career-best single call (Pork)172.5600 Oinktoberfest

20162 milestones

May 28 First tracked contest Roc City Rib Fest
May 28 First overall past 90% of a perfect score650.2288 Roc City Rib Fest

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+14.9	Oinktoberfest	Sep 22, 2017
+12.6	Oinktoberfest	Sep 22, 2018
+9.6	Ointoberfest BBQ Cookoff	Sep 23, 2016
+8.1	Oinktoberfest	Sep 21, 2019
+7.3	Fatboys Classic-Canadian BBQ Championship	Aug 6, 2016

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-12.4	Summer Daze BBQ Classic	Aug 23, 2019
-3.4	Drayton Kinsmen Smoke and Sounds Festival	Jun 9, 2017
-2	Craze Fest	Jun 3, 2017

Scores over time (% of a perfect score — tap a meat to add it)

Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)

Where they finish (overall)

Best vs average (by meat)

How entries end (by meat)

Season by season

Season	Contests	Top-10s	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2019	3	1	67%	top 49%	92.7%	90%
2018	1	1	100%	top 14%	91.1%	91.1%
2017	4	2	100%	top 46%	93.3%	89.3%
2016	3	0	0%	top 37%	90.3%	88.5%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Sep 21, 2019	Oinktoberfest 🏅 Clarence, NY	8 / 43 (667.3256)	11 (166.8228)	11 (167.4056)	15 (164.5372)	9 (168.5600)
Aug 23, 2019	Summer Daze BBQ Classic Niagara Falls, ON	20 / 23 (619.1768)	21 (152.4684)	13 (159.3484)	20 (146.2400)	11 (161.1200)
May 25, 2019	Capital BBQ Festival Ottawa, ON	18 / 43 (657.6228)	19 (164)	27 (158.8000)	10 (169.1428)	14 (165.6800)
Sep 22, 2018	Oinktoberfest Clarence, NY	7 / 51 (655.9544)	15 (164)	15 (161.1200)	14 (162.8344)	6 (168)
Sep 22, 2017	Oinktoberfest Clarence, NY	4 / 53 (671.9088)	13 (169.1544)	24 (160.5144)	2 (172.5600)	5 (169.6800)
Aug 5, 2017	Capital BBQ Festival Ottawa, ON	22 / 42 (628.4456)	17 (161.7028)	41 (140.5028)	10 (166.2512)	12 (159.9888)
Jun 9, 2017	Drayton Kinsmen Smoke and Sounds Festival Drayton Ontario	14 / 22 (631.8292)	10 (164.5372)	15 (157.1204)	13 (158.8228)	19 (151.3488)
Jun 3, 2017	Craze Fest Georgina, ON	10 / 17 (639.3144)	5 (167.9772)	3 (170.8228)	15 (147.9200)	12 (152.5944)
Sep 23, 2016	Ointoberfest BBQ Cookoff Clarence, NY	13 / 54 (647.2912)	30 (158.8456)	13 (163.9312)	21 (162.8228)	20 (161.6916)
Aug 6, 2016	Fatboys Classic-Canadian BBQ Championship Ottawa, CA	13 / 41 (614.1372)	11 (157.6800)	11 (156.5716)	18 (154.8112)	28 (145.0744)
May 28, 2016	Roc City Rib Fest Rochester, NY	28 / 50 (650.2288)	28 (164.0116)	14 (168)	36 (159.9772)	31 (158.2400)

WHISKEY'N'CLEAVERS

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Best top-10 run

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Purse competed for

State championships

Master avg

Storylines (8 found in their record)

Happy hunting ground

They almost always walk

High-water mark

A tough matchup

A strong matchup

Chicken nemesis

Looking over their shoulder

A September team

Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

More numbers

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

Scores over time (% of a perfect score — tap a meat to add it)

Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)

Where they finish (overall)

Best vs average (by meat)

How entries end (by meat)

Season by season

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)