Following the Whiskey Trail Around the Idaho Wilderness

Bux’s Bar Main Street Challis, ID

BY MIKE MCKENNA

Idaho is home to some of the most wild and rugged country left on earth.

The middle of the Gem State is covered by mountainous terrain better suited for elk and mountain goats than it is for humans.

But humans have always been drawn to such places, especially when you can steady nerves with a shot or two of whiskey. That’s probably why three of the towns that are gateways to Idaho’s wilderness have long been home to some pretty unique watering holes.

Challis, Ketchum, and Salmon make up part of the “Whiskey Trail” that circles the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Area—the largest contiguous wilderness area in the Lower 48. Each of these small towns is home to at least one timeless Western bar, the ideal kind of place to kick one back before heading off into the wilderness.

YOU CAN’T BE AWESOME!

The Casino on Main Street in Ketchum has a long and storied history. Originally built out of logs harvested from the now famous ski slopes of Bald Mountain in 1926, the Casino is more than just a bar. It’s a true landmark, it’s an institution, and it’s usually a foggy memory for anyone who was there the night before. The place hasn’t changed much since it first opened or when Ernest Hemingway used to drink there. And that’s part of its appeal.

Matthew Gorby has been bartending at The Casino for over a quarter-century now. “It feels like home. It’s like my living room now,” Gorby says. “I love the clientele.” The Casino is popular with everyone from longtime locals, to the new “Zoomtown locals” who have fled big cities since the onset of COVID, to the ski and summer tourist crowds. “I used to know 90% of the people who came in here. But now it’s less than 50%,” says Gorby, who stopped drinking years ago and is happily married and a proud father.

Matt Gorby: Awesome @ Ketchum Casino

PHOTO BY DANA DUGAN

The long, j-hooked bar sells lots of Jameson’s whiskey and Hamm’s beer and the latest trendy shot is a “Huck Bomb,” Idaho vodka mixed with NAS energy drink and splash of TRAIL TRAIL cranberry. The low-ceilinged and low-light establishment is known locally as “The Casbah” in honor of the old Clash hit, “Rock the Casbah.” It’s also jokingly referred to as “The Can’t Say No” and “The Can’t See Now.” Part of the personality of the bar is undoubtedly its loyal clientele.

When Gorby first started slinging drinks at The Casino, he worked the day shift. When he would open up every morning at 10:30am, some of the regulars would PHOTO BY F CRABTREE be waiting for him. After Gorby let them in one morning, they asked how he was. “I’m excellent,” he said. “You can’t be excellent. Woody is excellent.” “Okay then, I’m awesome,” he responded. “You can’t be awesome. Neil is awesome.” Bux’s Bar Main Street Challis, ID “Okay. Then I’m two thumbs up and an atta boy.” And that’s what Gorby and many of the patrons at The Casino have been ever since.

FAREWELL COCKTAILS

Bux’s Place is tucked at the top of Main Street in Challis. The building’s history dates back to around 1878 and became Bux’s back in 1949.

Instead of following the old saying, “If only the walls could talk,” the backbar is really what you’d like to hear stories from. The Brunswick Bar was made in New Hampshire and came around Cape Horn and then spent time hosting cocktails in Blackfoot and Ketchum before settling in Challis.

Newspaper publisher Ted Carleton first cut his teeth in the industry while working for the Challis Messenger a couple of decades ago. Bux’s hasn’t changed much since then.

Bux’s Place in Challis, ID

PHOTO BY MIKE MCKENNA

“Having a bar like that across the street from a newspaper office is never a good thing,” jokes Ted, who now runs a newspaper and publishing house in the mountains of California. “Back then, the bartenders would never shut anybody off,” he says, “which is why the streets are so wide there—so people could swerve their way home safely.”

The walls of the old bar are adorned with deer, elk, and antelope mounts and they even offer a book swap library. The clientele consists of agriculture, mining, and ranching folks as well as tourists during the summer and plenty of retirees willing to spin a yarn or two for you.

While Bux’s doesn’t really have any popular or exotic cocktails, it does have “The Board.” It sits behind the bar with a simple purpose. Every time a local passes away, someone will buy him or her a drink and it will sit up on the board for a while as a tribute to a drinking buddy who’s moved on to that great bar beyond.

LIGHTING THE LANTERN

Even though it’s best known for being a river town and the launch spot for countless rafting trips, Salmon is one of the best hockey towns in the country as well. Salmon’s small, outdoor rink rocks for several months each winter.

Meanwhile, smack dab in the middle of Main Street, The Lantern has been rocking every day for decades. Originally known as The Green Lantern, the long and narrow classic Western bar has been in its current location since 1965. It’s been in Gary Barrett’s family since 1954 and he’s been working there since he was 13.

The Lantern watering hole, Salmon, ID

PHOTO BY MIKE MCKENNA

“You have to be brain-dead to run an operation like this,” Gary jokes, as a group of regulars enjoy coffee and Gary’s famous Bloody Marys on a Sunday morning. Sundays are good days in The Lantern, because not only does Gary serve as the owner and bartender, he’s also the President of the “Church of Lantern Day Saints,” as the congregation of local clientele is known.

Annie and Cam Leady enjoy The Lantern’s green glow.

PHOTO BY MIKE MCKENNA

“Your identity really gets tied to the place,” Gary says, while fixing a busted pool cue. “I had an ex-wife who used to say, ‘The only thing you’ve ever been married to is this bar.’”

The décor in The Lantern is fairly sparse and the lighting is a dim, day-glo green. There’s a wood–burning stove and numerous lanterns hang from the ceiling. The customers consist of local ranchers donning cowboy hats all year, river guides wearing sandals in the summer, and hockey parents in puffy jackets in the winter.

“This is a working man’s place. Good old boys and girls come here,” bartender Autumn Kaber says. Autumn almost died not too long ago and has the scars to prove it. Doctors say that she is “nothing but a walking miracle.” In some ways, it’s a miracle that bars like The Lantern, Bux’s Place, and The Casino are still around. They are carrying on the history and character of these rustic Idaho towns.

It’s good to know there are still timeless places to grab a shot or two of whiskey before you take on the wild world outside their doors.

Owl Club, Main Street, Salmon

PHOTO BY F CRABTREE