Nominations for the third annual Boothby Best Bars QLD awards are open now

It’s time to kick off the Boothby Best Bars awards program for 2025.

This is the third year of Boothby Best Bars awards, and we’re beginning as we have every year, up in the great state of Queensland.

The Boothby Best Bars awards program is all about what makes the drinking great in each state. I’ve written before that I think great bars speak to a time and place, and the big idea with the Boothby Best Bars program is to get a better view of how we drink right now.

And with a state by state focus, the Boothby Best Bars awards have shown that there are great bars outside of the big capital cities, with a number of bars from our regions making the lists in Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria.

But the Boothby Best Bars awards are also about throwing a great big hospo party to celebrate the industry, too.

So we’ll be doing just that, on day two of the second Bartenders’ Weekender up in Brisbane in June. We’ll be counting down the Boothby Best Bars QLD Top 30 on Monday 16 June at the rock and roll boozer that is Alice.

And as we countdown the Top 30, we’ll also hand out seven major awards along the way: the Queensland All Time Great presented by Club Suntory; Person of the Year Queensland presented by Brown-Forman; the Best New Bar in Queensland presented by Angel’s Envy; Best Hospitality Team Queensland presented by Perrier; Best Cocktail Bar in Queensland presented by Ilegal Mezcal; and the Best Bar in Queensland presented by Never Never Distilling Co.

We’ve also added a new award to the slate in 2025, one that recognises the need for many bars to offer not just great drinks, but great food as well: the Best Bar Eats in Queensland presented by Estrella makes its debut this year.

Nominations are open now in the form below, and close at midnight on Wednesday 16 April 2025. It takes just one nomination to be considered in the next round of voting, and personal nominations are encouraged. Learn more about how it works below.

How does it work?

1. Nominations open on Friday 28 March 2025. We’re after nominations for the best bars in Queensland (in the form below), with an emphasis on nominees from regional cities and towns. Queensland is a big state! We also want you to tell us who should be named Person of the Year.
2. After nominations close at 11:59pm on Wednesday 16 April, the Queensland Boothby advisory panel — consisting of bartenders, bar owners and other industry figures — will cast their votes based on the nominations, which will need to include at least two venues from outside their own city.
3. On Tuesday 6 June, invites to attend the Boothby Best Bars QLD event will be sent out to representatives of the bars on the list.
4. On Monday 16 June, we’ll gather at Alice in Brisbane to celebrate the best bars in Queensland, countdown the Top 30 all the way to the number one, and hand out the major awards. It’ll be a blast!