Great American BBQ Tour Heats Up    March 20, 2008

PRESS RELEASE Contact: KCBS PR Team kcbspr@mmacreative.com (800) 499-2332 Great American BBQ Tour heats up Kansas City, Mo. – Barbeque lovers rejoice, this competition season promises to be more captivating and interactive than ever. The Kansas City Barbeque Society, the world’s largest and most respected barbeque organization, has teamed up with Tabasco Brand Chipotle Sauce, Weber Grill Creations seasonings, Royal Oak charcoal and Chinet tableware to embark on the first annual Great American BBQ Tour. “2008 will be a very exciting year for the KCBS, with enthusiasm for competitive barbeque sweeping the country,” said KCBS Executive Director Carolyn Wells. “This is about as fun and delicious as a professional sport can be.” 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 23 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 Wells. “Thanks to our national sponsors, we will be able to demonstrate for amateur backyard grillers what the pros do on the circuit to achieve national champion style barbeque.” The KCBS trailer will also give exhibitions at retail locations prior to the event for locals to meet barbeque pros, taste authentic barbeque samples and receive world-class culinary tips, and then apply what they’ve learned to their own outdoor cooking at home. Tour sponsors Tabasco Brand and Weber Grill Creations will be providing quality ingredients that go hand-in-hand with mouth-watering barbeque. These sponsor products include Tabasco Brand’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 created by the grilling experts to elevate the flavor of all your grilled meals. 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. Additionally, questions can be answered concerning what goes on behind the scenes of the competition and the secrets of a fine tuned palette. For 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.