Organic Vodka

I am not a huge fan of most alcohol. I can appreciate beer and wine, but in the end, they make me feel somewhat sick. I used to wonder if I am allergic to alcohol (like, more so than most). But then I realized hard liquor has never bothered me. I never get the spins. I never get a hangover. Just a very nice buzz.

Now with beer and wine, you have micro-brews and locally grown wine. But what's a foodie who likes hard liquor to do? Well, you go to Al's Wine and Whiskey Lounge. This place is awesome. It has plush leather sofas and a nice book-ish ambiance. It has amazingly professional bartenders who can have a long conversation with you about the different whiskeys they carry. It's also in Downtown Syracuse and doesn't have a dedicated parking lot, which I think is great.

Now, as with anything I like, it has a weird history. When I first came to Syracuse it was called Awful Al's. It was a cigar bar. As a non-smoker, I avoided the place like the plague. Then NY became non-smoking. For a while, it held out as a cigar bar and had an ever greater concentration of smokers. Ick. But something changed. I don't know how, why or when. They changed the name. And now, I love them. Here's why:
You got it. That menu says domestic, organic vodka. This is what I have been waiting for. Instead of just being foodie about my beer and wine, I can be a foodie about my hard liquor too! Let me also point out the third item down: Rye. Now that is rye vodka, but they also had rye whiskey (perhaps I was a little too buzzed to notice the difference when this picture was taken). Anyway, ever since I read the Slow Food USA post about rye whiskey, I've had a hankering for an authentic Manhattan. That night I had two. Awful Al's - you rule.

Sorry, I mean.... Al's Wine and Whiskey Lounge. ;-)