Great American BBQ Tour Kicks Off with Major Sponsors

The Kansas City Barbeque Society, the world’s largest and most respected barbeque organization, has teamed up with Tabasco, Weber Grill Creations, Royal Oak charcoal and Chinet tableware to launch the first annual Great American BBQ Tour.

Packed with free samples, barbeque tips and demo recipes galore, the tour kicks off in Rio Rancho, N.M., at the Pork ‘n Brew BBQ Cookoff on March 28-29. The tour will visit more than 25 cities from coast to coast, including some of the country’s biggest events like the American Royal in Kansas City, Mo., the CMA Music Festival in Nashville, Tenn., and the Best of the West in Reno, Nev. The final stop of the tour is the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational on Oct. 24-25 in Lynchburg, Tenn.

“The Great American BBQ Tour is our most ambitious effort yet to promote all things BBQ,” said KCBS Executive Director Carolyn Wells. “Thanks to our national sponsors, we will be able to demonstrate for average backyard grillers what the pros do on the circuit to achieve national champion style barbeque.”

Tour sponsors Tabasco and Weber Grill will be providing quality ingredients that go hand-in-hand with mouth-watering barbeque. These sponsor products include Tabasco’s new Chipotle Pepper Sauce made from select smoked red jalapeño peppers with a smooth, rich smoky flavor, and Weber Grill Creations, a full line of unique and innovative seasonings and marinade mixes that can be used on grilled steak, chicken, fish and vegetables.

Also showcased on the tour is Royal Oak charcoal and Chinet brand tableware. Royal Oak is 100 percent natural wood charcoal made from oak, hickory, maple and other hardwoods, which makes it great for searing in one-of-a-kind barbeque flavor. Serving up samples to barbeque visitors on the tour will be Chinet. Known for its classic style and durability, Chinet is the top choice for convenient and easy clean up for any barbeque occasion.

Visitors to the tour stops will enjoy live cooking demonstrations, visits with national KCBS champions, and tasty barbeque samples. For a more information about the tour, visit www.kcbs.us/tour.php.

It’s estimated that several thousand teams compete on the national KCBS circuit. KCBS, a nonprofit organization with nearly 9,000 members nationwide, has been sanctioning events and training certified barbeque judges for more than 20 years. Using an objective, blind judging process, the society sanctions nearly 300 barbeque competitions throughout the nation each year. For more information about KCBS, The Great American BBQ Tour and its sponsors, visit www.kcbs.us/tour.php.