Bourbon Barrel BBQ

Bourbon Barrel BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 17 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2013 and 2026. Their best overall finish is 3rd of 64 at the 2nd Annual Parkinson's Smoke Out (2014). They are ranked #1146 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings.

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At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#1,146

of 6,491 rated · rankings

Rating

1591

peak 1592 · rated over 16 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Jun 7, 2013

latest Jan 22, 2026 · 12.6 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#324

Master 2014 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

9 podiums

Overall top-10s

35% of 17 contests

Best top-10 run

straight overall top-10s

Avg finish

top 29%

overall standings

Best overall

685.1432 / 720

Master · Smokin' on the River

Perfect 180s

Current form

669.54 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 671.19 (-1.65)

Walk rate

65%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

177.1428

Chicken · Bands & BBQ at the Point

Consistency

±11.10

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 167.76 · weakest Brisket (163.12)

Road miles

1,792

across 17 mapped stops · furthest 718 mi

Schedule strength

24%

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

Purse competed for

$100K

listed at 4 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 4 state-championship entries

Master avg

671.19 / 720

12 Master contests · 0 GCs

Backyard avg

336.23 / 360

2 Backyard contests · 0 GCs

Backyard (4-meat) avg

621.60 / 720

2 Backyard (4-meat) contests · 0 GCs

These overall scores sit on different scales (Master out of 720, Backyard out of 360, Backyard (4-meat) out of 720), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.

This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.

Storylines (10 found in their record)

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

Happy hunting ground

Top 14% average finish here

Bands & BBQ at the Point is their spot: an average finish in the top 14% across 2 visits.

2 visits
best finish 4th
average top 14%

They almost always walk

65% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 11 of 17 contests

A top-10 category call in 65% of their 17 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

High-water mark

685.1432 career-best overall

95.2% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 685.1432 at Smokin' on the River — 95.2% of a perfect 720.

Master
Jun 14, 2013

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

Pappy Q has finished one call ahead of Bourbon Barrel BBQ 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

9–2 behind in the head-to-head

WARREN COUNTY PORK CHOPPERS ahead in 82% of their meetings

WARREN COUNTY PORK CHOPPERS has come out ahead in 9 of their 11 shared contests.

The weak link

−4.6 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 4.64 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 19% of the time against 38%.

Brisket avg 163.12
Chicken avg 167.76
3 calls in 16 entries

A strong matchup

8–2 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 80% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of Extra Mile BBQ in 8 of their 10 shared contests.

Show 3 more storylines

The comeback

4 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 4 years, then back at Lakeland Pig Festival (Jan 26, 2024).

last seen Jan 24, 2020
back Jan 26, 2024

Chicken nemesis

7 of 7 shared chicken entries lost

YELLOW RIVER BBQ ahead 100% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, YELLOW RIVER BBQ has out-cooked them in 7 of 7 shared chicken entries.

A September team

Top 20% average finish in September

Something about September: average finish in the top 20% across 3 contests, versus top 29% the rest of the year.

3 September contests
top 29% 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
2014 ↗	Master	#324 (1,115 pts)	#418 (900 pts)	#274 (1,245 pts)	#374 (985 pts)	#459 (830 pts)

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to Bourbon Barrel BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.

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

BACK PORCH Q

#1,145 of the rated field

1591 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 41%
Peak: 1591

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 16 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 16 contests
last seen Oct 2, 2014

⚔ Compare careers

Goudas Barbecue

#1,147 of the rated field

1591 power rating

Contests: 16
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 50%
Peak: 1591

Careers of much the same size, 16 contests to 17, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 14 contests
last seen Aug 9, 2025
on a 3-contest top-10 run

⚔ Compare careers

ALPINE SMOKE WORKS

#1,150 of the rated field

1590 power rating

Contests: 22
GCs: 3
Top-10s: 32%
Peak: 1590

Their rating is built on 3 Grand Championships in 22 contests, alongside a 32% overall top-10 rate.

rated over 20 contests
last seen Sep 25, 2026
on a 4-contest top-10 run

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SMOKE RING AND BARK

#1,149 of the rated field

1590 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 60%
Peak: 1590

They turned up 10 years after Bourbon Barrel BBQ did, first appearing in 2023.

rated over 10 contests
last seen Jul 9, 2026

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ALL QUED UP

#1,144 of the rated field

1591 power rating

Contests: 29
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 45%
Peak: 1616

Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 7 years before Bourbon Barrel BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 29 contests

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LAKE HOUSE BBQ

#1,141 of the rated field

1591 power rating

Contests: 36
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 44%
Peak: 1629

Level with Bourbon Barrel BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 32 contests
last seen Aug 22, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
WARREN COUNTY PORK CHOPPERS	11	2	9	18%	⚔ compare
Extra Mile BBQ	10	8	1	80%	⚔ compare
BLUE CHIP BBQ	10	4	6	40%	⚔ compare
Pappy Q	9	4	5	44%	⚔ compare
ALL OUT PIG OUT	8	8	0	100%	⚔ compare
WeQ4U	8	6	2	75%	⚔ compare
MONTY PIGTHON & THE HOLY GRILL	8	5	3	63%	⚔ compare
SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS	8	4	4	50%	⚔ compare
BIG JT'S SMOKIN BBQ	8	4	4	50%	⚔ compare
DOLF'S BBQ	7	7	0	100%	⚔ compare
ACME BBQ	7	6	1	86%	⚔ compare
YELLOW RIVER BBQ	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare
HISTORIC BBQ	6	5	1	83%	⚔ compare
SQUEALERS AWARD WINNING BARBEQUE	6	5	1	83%	⚔ compare
HOBBIE BAR-B-Q	6	5	1	83%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	16	6	0	3	177.1428	154.2628	167.76	top 35%
Pork Ribs	16	4	0	3	176.0228	153.1428	166.00	top 37%
Pork	16	8	1	1	177.1428	145.6456	166.15	top 37%
Brisket	16	3	0	2	174.8916	142.2172	163.12	top 42%

“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	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	5	0	top 25%
Large (40+)	11	0	top 31%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
KY	6	top 24%
FL	4	top 43%
IN	4	top 22%
OH	1	top 24%
IL	1	top 40%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Lakeland Pig Festival	4	14	top 43%	Jan 22, 2026
Bands & BBQ at the Point	2	4	top 14%	Sep 5, 2014
Smokin' On The River	2	3	top 17%	Jun 13, 2014
Bourbon City BBQ Festival Cookoff	2	12	top 38%	Jun 6, 2014

More numbers

Busiest season 2014 7 contests

Contests a season 2.1 across 8 seasons in the data

Most contests held in KY 6 of 17 contests · 5 states in all

Contests visited 10 4 of them more than once

Opponents faced 567 finished ahead 652 times, behind 309

Longest layoff 4 yrs Jan 24, 2020 → Jan 26, 2024

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

20261 milestone

Jan 22 Most recent contest Lakeland Pig Festival

20144 milestones

Mar 28 First category win (Pork) Grills Gone Wild BBQ Festival
Jun 13 10th tracked contest Smokin' On The River
Sep 5 Career-best single call (Chicken)177.1428 Bands & BBQ at the Point
Sep 5 Peak power rating (1592) Bands & BBQ at the Point

20136 milestones

Jun 7 First tracked contest Bourbon City BBQ Festival Cookoff
Jun 7 First call Bourbon City BBQ Festival Cookoff
Jun 7 First overall past 90% of a perfect score650.2858 Bourbon City BBQ Festival Cookoff
Jun 14 First overall top-10 Smokin' on the River
Jun 14 First overall podium Smokin' on the River
Jun 14 Career-best overall score685.1432 Smokin' on the River

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+15	Smokin' on the River	Jun 14, 2013
+14.5	2nd Annual Parkinson's Smoke Out	Apr 3, 2014
+13	Bands & BBQ at the Point	Sep 6, 2013
+12.3	Grills Gone Wild BBQ Festival	Mar 28, 2014
+9.4	Bands & BBQ at the Point	Sep 5, 2014

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-11.3	Lakeland Pig Festival	Jan 24, 2020
-2.2	Lakeland Pig Festival	Jan 25, 2019
-0.9	Smokin' On The River	Jun 12, 2015

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	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2026	1	0	0	100%	top 22%	94.3%	94.3%
2024	1	0	0	0%	top 30%	92.5%	92.5%
2020	1	0	0	0%	top 74%	84.7%	84.7%
2019	1	0	0	0%	top 48%	87.9%	87.9%
2018	1	0	0	0%	—	—	—
2015	1	0	0	0%	top 47%	91.7%	91.7%
2014	7	4	1	86%	top 23%	95.1%	93.3%
2013	4	2	0	100%	top 22%	95.2%	93.4%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Jan 22, 2026	Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL	14 / 63 (339.3600)	8 (170.8228)	21 (168.5372)	9 (170.8456)	2 (172)
Jan 26, 2024	Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL	18 / 61 (333.0972)	20 (165.0972)	16 (168)	56 (145.6456)	46 (150.2056)
Jan 24, 2020	Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL	39 / 53 (610.1144)	38 (154.2628)	34 (155.9772)	32 (157.6572)	42 (142.2172)
Jan 25, 2019	Lakeland Pig Festival 🏅 Lakeland, FL	28 / 58 (633.0856)	38 (158.2284)	27 (160.0344)	22 (160.5372)	27 (154.2856)
Jan 26, 2018	Lakeland Pig Festival Lakeland, FL	—	—	—	—	—
Jun 12, 2015	Smokin' On The River Jeffersonville, IN	28 / 59 (660.4572)	20 (168.5256)	35 (162.2628)	43 (162.2516)	21 (167.4172)
Sep 5, 2014	Bands & BBQ at the Point Carrollton, KY	6 / 36 (680.4684)	3 (177.1428)	2 (172.5716)	19 (167.3712)	16 (163.3828)
Jun 13, 2014	Smokin' On The River Jeffersonville, IN	15 / 52 (666.7884)	27 (165.1200)	12 (167.4400)	6 (174.2628)	29 (159.9656)
Jun 6, 2014	Bourbon City BBQ Festival Cookoff Bardstown, KY	12 / 34 (675.4400)	18 (169.7028)	2 (176)	23 (165.7372)	17 (164)
May 16, 2014	Buckeye State BBQ Championship West Chester, OH	9 / 38 (664.5256)	4 (172.5600)	9 (166.8800)	9 (167.9656)	27 (157.1200)
Apr 25, 2014	Wabash Ribberfest Barbecue Championship Mt. Carmel, IL	20 / 50 (655.3260)	39 (157.1088)	25 (163.3828)	22 (163.4172)	14 (171.4172)
Apr 3, 2014	2nd Annual Parkinson's Smoke Out Evansville, IN	3 / 64 (677.7252)	14 (167.4284)	3 (176.0228)	19 (167.9656)	17 (166.3084)
Mar 28, 2014	Grills Gone Wild BBQ Festival London, KY	5 / 42 (684.5372)	23 (166.2400)	16 (166.2628)	1 (177.1428)	3 (174.8916)
Sep 27, 2013	Grillin and Chillin BBQ Owensboro, KY	14 / 45 (673.0740)	16 (170.2628)	20 (165.7256)	8 (172.5600)	23 (164.5256)
Sep 6, 2013	Bands & BBQ at the Point Carrollton, KY	4 / 34 (680.5144)	5 (176)	18 (164.5716)	7 (170.2628)	8 (169.6800)
Jun 14, 2013	Smokin' on the River Jeffersonville, IN	3 / 52 (685.1432)	3 (176)	12 (169.1430)	8 (171.4286)	15 (168.5716)
Jun 7, 2013	Bourbon City BBQ Festival Cookoff Bardstown, KY	12 / 30 (650.2858)	3 (169.7142)	25 (153.1428)	9 (163.4288)	15 (164)

Bourbon Barrel BBQ

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

Backyard avg

Backyard (4-meat) avg

Storylines (10 found in their record)

Happy hunting ground

They almost always walk

High-water mark

The one to beat

A tough matchup

The weak link

A strong matchup

The comeback

Chicken nemesis

A September team

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

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)