Our 2023 Backyard BBQ Championship Season

The 2023 season was a breakout year for Bourbon & Blues BBQ. We had only started competing in April 2022, and just nine months later we earned our first Grand Champion at the Lakeland Pig Festival in January 2023. That win set the tone for an unforgettable year on the KCBS Backyard circuit.

We traveled extensively, collected wins across the country, and spent much of the season near the top of the Team of the Year standings in both Chicken and Ribs. By season’s end, we had earned 1st Place in Chicken and 2nd Place in Ribs in the KCBS Backyard Team of the Year race, with our close friends at Norala BBQ taking the rib title in the final weeks. Along the way, we also began testing ourselves in Masters contests as we prepared for the next chapter of our competition journey.

Bourbon & Blues BBQ 2023 Competition Schedule

Backyard BBQ looked a little different depending on where we competed in 2023. Most contests required only Chicken and Ribs, while some added Pork, and Florida Backyard events also required Brisket. That variety gave us opportunities to work on all four traditional KCBS meats throughout the season.

We also mixed in several one-meat contests and a few Masters events, identified in the schedule below, to see how our cooking and processes would translate to the next level. By the end of the year, those experiences helped confirm that we were ready to make the move to the Masters circuit.

This schedule reflects Bourbon & Blues BBQ’s primary competition stops during the 2023 calendar year. Separate one-meat contests are included in our season results but are not listed as individual schedule stops.

Our 2023 Competition Season

It is hard to overstate what 2023 meant for Bourbon & Blues BBQ. Less than a year after entering our first BBQ competition, we opened the season by earning our first Grand Champion at the Lakeland Pig Festival. Rather than being a one-off breakthrough, that win became the start of a season in which we consistently found ourselves near the top of the standings.

Across the year, we earned six Grand Champions, four Reserve Grand Champions, 23 Top 10 overall finishes, and 66 Top 10 category finishes. Chicken and Ribs were especially strong, accounting for most of our category wins and keeping us in contention for the KCBS Backyard Team of the Year category titles throughout the season. One of the biggest weekends of the year came at Smokin on the Osage, where we capped the weekend with a Grand Champion on Day 2 and also earned the Two-Day Overall Backyard Grand Champion title.

We finished the year as the KCBS Backyard Team of the Year Champion in Chicken and 2nd in Ribs. That rib race remained close until the final weeks, when our good friends at Norala BBQ moved into the top spot. It was competitive, but it was also one of the things that made the season so memorable.

As the Backyard season wound down, we were already looking toward the next challenge. We entered several Masters contests during the year to see how our food and processes would translate, and after the 2024 Masters season officially began on November 1, 2023, we finished 10th Overall with a 3rd Place Chicken at the Atlanta BBQ Store Classic. It was a strong early indication that we could compete at the next level.

2023 Season Highlights

• Grand Champion — Lakeland Pig Festival — our first career Grand Champion, with 1st Place Chicken and 3rd Ribs in a 51-team field
• Grand Champion — Sip & Swine BBQ Festival — highlighted by a perfect 180 and 1st Place Chicken, plus 7th Ribs and 7th Pork in a 65-team field
• Grand Champion — Jiggy With The Piggy, Day 1 — highlighted by a perfect 180 and 1st Place Ribs
• Grand Champion — Jiggy With The Piggy, Day 2 — making it back-to-back GCs, with 2nd Chicken and 2nd Ribs
• Reserve Grand Champion — WV Hunting Heroes BBQ Throwdown — with 1st Place Pork, 3rd Chicken, and 4th Ribs
• Reserve Grand Champion — Smokin in the Electric City, Day 1 — with 1st Place Chicken and 3rd Ribs
• Grand Champion — Smokin in the Electric City, Day 2 — with 1st Place Ribs
• Grand Champion — Smokin on the Osage, Day 2 — highlighted by a perfect 180 and 1st Place Ribs, plus 2nd Chicken
• Two-Day Overall Backyard Grand Champion — Smokin on the Osage — the combined results from both days earned us the weekend’s overall Backyard championship
• Reserve Grand Champion — Que’ For a Cause — with 1st Place Ribs
• 1st Place One-Meat Ribs — O’So Good BBQ Festival
• KCBS Backyard Team of the Year — 1st Place Chicken
• KCBS Backyard Team of the Year — 2nd Place Ribs
• 10th Overall — Atlanta BBQ Store Classic — with 3rd Place Chicken in an early Masters contest after the 2024 Masters season began

From Backyard Champions to the Masters Circuit

The 2023 season changed the trajectory of Bourbon & Blues BBQ. What had started as a new challenge in 2022 became something much bigger as the wins, miles, friendships, and lessons began to add up. Winning the KCBS Backyard Chicken Team of the Year title and battling for the Ribs championship showed us that we could compete consistently at a high level.

By the end of the season, the next step was clear. We were ready to leave the Backyard division behind and find out what we could do on the Masters circuit. The experience we gained throughout 2023 became the foundation for everything that followed.

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