‘It’s astonishing’: These Boise bars are blasting through booze. One set a record.

The past year continued to be a challenging period for drinking establishments in the Boise area.

But the party didn’t stop.

After a sharp downturn at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, booze is flowing faster than ever at many bars and restaurants.

That much is clear — clear as vodka — when you study the annual sales report from the Idaho State Liquor Division. The data tells us how much hard alcohol was purchased by Gem State bars and restaurants during fiscal year 2021, which ended June 30. (Note: We are not talking about beer, wine or seltzer, which the liquor division doesn’t handle.)

Using the purchase numbers, we can ascertain approximately how much booze these businesses turned around and sold. How popular they are. How much liquor the busy bartenders are spilling on the bar.

Have you been to Barbacoa in Boise lately?

If not, you might be the only person.

The bar and restaurant at 276 W. Bobwhite Court bought more booze — and spent way more money doing it — than any of its local competitors. Barbacoa bought 21,869 bottles at a cost of $439,975.

Those are new Treasure Valley records. But the trend itself is nothing new. Barbacoa is the perennial No. 1 in the Boise area. It set previous highs during fiscal year 2019. Hey, you can’t argue with Barbacoa’s daily happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m.: Buy one, get one free.

When the economy was pummeled at the start of the pandemic, bars and restaurants suddenly stopped buying and selling as much liquor. Remember the forced bar closures statewide in spring of 2020?

But they’ve bounced back. In a big way.

Sales were up 191 percent this May compared to May of 2020, said Tony Faraca, CFO of the Idaho State Liquor Division. In June? Up 51 percent. July? 60 percent. August? 50 percent.

Nowhere is this resurgence more noticeable than in downtown Boise, which was hit particularly hard prior to COVID-19 vaccines becoming available.

“It’s astonishing on the surface,” Faraca said, “but makes a lot more sense when you consider the state of things this time last year.”

Bottles purchased

Here are the top 10 bars in the Treasure Valley ranked by number of bottles of liquor purchased in fiscal 2021. You’ll notice that a new face or two has rocketed up this list. Be aware that adjacent businesses with the same owner receive a combined number from the liquor division.

1. Barbacoa, Boise: 21,869

2. Bardenay, Boise: 18,874

3. Frontier Club/Roosevelt Bar, Meridian: 12,272

4. Silly Birch/Whiskey Bar, Boise: 9,894

5. Mulligans Bar & Eatery/The Olympic, Boise: 9,737

6. Reef/The Front Door/The Brickyard, Boise: 9,549

7. Riverside Hotel, Garden City: 9,287

8. Hannah’s, Boise: 9,121

9. Bittercreek Alehouse/Diablo & Sons, Boise: 9,046

10. Crave Kitchen & Bar, Eagle: 8,886 (edging out Homestead Bar & Grill in Meridian, which had 8,858)

Dollars spent

Here are the top 10 bars in the Treasure Valley ranked by dollars they spent at state liquor stores in fiscal 2021:

1. Barbacoa, Boise: $439,975

2. Frontier Club/Roosevelt Bar, Meridian: $245,571

3. Crave Kitchen & Bar, Eagle: $221,306

4. Silly Birch/Whiskey Bar, Boise: $210,756

5. Chandlers Steakhouse, Boise: $209,229

6. Bittercreek Alehouse/Diablo & Sons, Boise: $203,812

7. The Mode Lounge, Boise: $197,226

8. Bardenay, Boise: $189,235

9. Homestead Bar & Grill, Meridian: $187,260

10. Indian Creek Steakhouse, Caldwell: $177,584

What jumps out from these lists?

Almost half of the top 10 biggest spenders in the Treasure Valley were not located in Boise — including two of the top three. (And Indian Creek Steakhouse in Caldwell is top 10?)

It’s all kind of mind-blowing. Or does it make total sense? After all, the population has exploded in western Ada and Canyon counties.

“Our biggest growth in the last year has been in the non-Boise Treasure Valley,” Faraca said. “People clearly are migrating to the more affordable parts of the Treasure Valley. Caldwell and Nampa being one of those. You can just look at the census numbers.”

Also, as the joke goes, once you cross Eagle Road heading west, COVID no longer exists.

“That may be part of it,” Faraca said. “But there are more people moving to that side of Eagle Road just because of availability and affordability.

“I think it’s mostly growth.”

Resort towns

Despite tequila flowing like water, the Treasure Valley doesn’t have the biggest booze-buying bars in Idaho.

You have to hit the resort towns to sip from the true ocean of alcohol.

Circling Raven Golf Club in Worley — which is part of a casino — bought the most bottles in Idaho: 23,271. (And spent only $295,590.)

The Couer d’Alene Resort and Conference Center crushed 22,554 bottles at a state-high $646,407. That’s an average of $28.66 per bottle, which suggests that it included lots of top-notch booze.

Sun Valley Resort was the second-biggest spender in the state at $462,540. Huge. But that’s still barely more than Barbacoa in Boise — making Barbacoa’s numbers even more jaw-dropping. And Sun Valley Resort’s bottle number was 17,803 — significantly behind Barbacoa’s count.

Statewide, don’t be surprised if liquor numbers continue creeping skyward in coming years. Idaho bars and restaurants set a record with $42 million in purchases in fiscal 2021.

“There’s a lot of moving parts out there right now with the economy, with COVID,” Faraca said. “The biggest factor is, we all know how the population’s growing. We see it on the freeways. We see the out-of-staters moving into the neighborhood.”

This story was originally published September 8, 2021 at 1:03 PM.