And the winners are…
Best Cocktail Bar
WINNER
The Revelry
FINALISTS
The Daily Refresher | Martine | Cure
Best Dive Bar
WINNER
Lux Lounge
FINALISTS
Murph’s Irondequoit Pub | Joey’s | Marshall Street Bar and Grill
Best LGBTQ Bar
WINNER
ROAR
FINALISTS
Lux Lounge | Bachelor Forum | Avenue Pub
Best Bar to Drink Alone
WINNER
ROAR
FINALISTS
Lux Lounge | Ziggy’s | Strangebird
Best Barista
WINNER
Rory Van Grol (Ugly Duck)
FINALISTS
Billy Lyons (Hydra) | Erika Jenks (Clementine) | Taylor Brotzman (Clementine)
Best Bartender
WINNER
Patrick Stetzel (Ziggy’s)
FINALISTS
Michael Bolis | Alex Cubi (Tavos) | Will Cornfield (Martine)
Best Cidery (Alcoholic)
WINNER
Blue Barn Cidery
FINALISTS
Muller’s Cider House | OSB Ciderworks | Seed + Stone Cidery
Best Coffee Shop
WINNER
Java’s
FINALISTS
Ugly Duck Coffee | Fuego Coffee Roasters | Melo Coffee & Kitchen
Best Craft Brewery
WINNER
Three Heads Brewing
FINALISTS
Strangebird Beer | Irondequoit Beer Company | Mortalis Brewing Company
Best Juice Bar
WINNER
Just Juice 4 Life
FINALISTS
Breathe Yoga & Juice Bar | Refresh Cafe & Smoothie Bar
Best Sports Bar
WINNER
Jeremiah’s Tavern
FINALISTS
Ziggy’s | Tin Cup Social | The Distillery
Best Wine Bar
WINNER
Carnegie Wine Cellars
FINALISTS
Apogee Wine Bar | Flight Wine Bar | Living Roots Wine & Co.
Best Winery (Roc or FLX)
WINNER
Living Roots Wine & Co.
FINALISTS
Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery | Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard | Fox Run Vineyards
CRITICS’ PICKS
By Gino Fanelli, Johanna Lester, and Leah Stacy
The only all-ages happy hour: Tom Wahl’s
It’s late afternoon. You’ve been working for what feels like the most hours when you notice that your standard “at least three beverages at all times” lineup is short a member. You need … something. There’s a void and it must be filled. It’s too late for coffee, it’s too early (and, likely, too unprofessional) for a cocktail. Enter Tom Wahl’s “Root Beer Happy Hour.” Offered daily (locations include Greece, Avon, Brighton, Bushnell’s Basin, Canandaigua, Fairport, and Newark) from 3 to 4 p.m., you can grab a root beer float for $1.99. In case you think you misread that, I’m mentioning it again: you can get a root beer float—made with Tom Wahl’s homemade root beer—for $1.99. Every day. Is this the best use for $2? Will you come across as looking like the epitome of generosity in your friend/family group when you graciously (but knowingly) say, “It’s on me”? Are you also getting a side of fries because you know that every ice cream treat deserves a hot, salty potato on the side? (No one needs to know! But the obvious answer to all these questions is yes, of course.) Take your grandparents, take your children—no one is getting carded and everyone is going home happy. —JOHANNA LESTER
Drink trend to watch in 2024: NA cocktails
In case you missed the most hilarious announcement in early December, White Claw announced a new, non-alcoholic version of their popular spiked seltzers: White Claw 0% Alcohol. Food and drink editors around the world thought it was a prank at first, but it’s completely real. So, uh, that’s just seltzer, right? Right. With a higher price tag. And it all speaks to a trend that’s growing in the drink world. As a Wegmans ginger seltzer stan and HOP WTR (non-alcoholic seltzer made with hops for flavor) subscriber, I get it — sort of. Most nights of the week I like to have an NA option at home. There’s been a lot of cultural buzz about NA cocktails (AKA mocktails) and lower ABV options, especially since the booze-infused days of the pandemic where many people drank heavily at home. Here in Rochester, we have an NA cocktail contest and an NA pop-up, AltBar, which offer mocktail mixology for those who don’t imbibe. I’m all for it — but let’s remember, if a bar or restaurant staff knows their stuff behind the pine, they will know how to make a tasty NA cocktail, with or without a fancy mocktail menu. —LEAH STACY
Most underrated brewer: Clay Killian
Look, Rochester is not hurting for talented brewers flexing their muscles on cutting edge beers. We have world-renowned talent like Eric Salazar at Strangebird popping out an endless array of barrel-aged oddities. Jon Mervine at Fifth Frame puts up IPAs to rival any Trillium or Tree House offerings. Paul Guarrancini at Sager B
eer Works makes the best English Dark Mild this side of the pond. But for a true beer nerd experience, beers that are bold, complex, and utterly dedicated to style and form, look no further than Clay Killian at Pittsford’s Copper Leaf. When Killian first opened the doors of Copper Leaf in 2021, what struck me was not the competently brewed IPA or blonde ale, as good as they were. No, it was the fully formed wild ale program on tap, blended with assorted fruit and with new batches bubbling away in barrels throughout the taproom. Who the hell does that? Well-established breweries like K2 Brothers and even Other Half took years before launching their own respective wild ale programs. But then there’s this little hole in the wall in Pittsford, on opening day, pouring glasses of a spontaneously fermented strawberry ale. It was a bold move, even if the beer sucked — but it didn’t. Killian’s take on sours is ripe with notes of fresh fruit, funk, acid and sugar in a delicate harmony. The thing about his truly great beers is, for the average drinker, they can be challenging. Look no further than Killian’s Flanders Red Ale, a Belgian-style sour defined by such a strong acetic backbone that its intricacies can easily be lost in the shuffle. But beneath that tart veneer are deep notes of cherry, stone fruit, and even toffee, ripe for the picking. It’s a deeply challenging beer made for people who can truly appreciate how special it is. That descriptor can apply to so many of Copper Leaf’s offerings. Yes, Killian brews the obligatory IPAs and heavily fruited sours. But if he has anything close to a flagship, it’s a grisette; an esoteric style of German farmhouse ale. This is all to say that Killian is a brewer’s brewer. He makes beer for people who love beer. —GINO FANELLI
Most promising Finger Lakes wine project: Apollo’s Praise
Even if you don’t follow Finger Lakes wine news, there’s a chance you’ve heard the names Kelby James Russell or Julia Rose Hoyle. The married couple are both acclaimed international winemakers; Russell for Red Newt Cellars and Empire Estate on Seneca Lake and Hoyle for Hosmer Winery on Cayuga Lake. In late 2023, Finger Lakes native Russell bought Lahoma Vineyards, on the opposite side of Seneca Lake, and announced he would be producing his own wines under the moniker Apollo’s Praise. (Fun fact, it’s a nod to a song he performed with the Glee Club as an undergraduate orchestration major at Harvard University.) Hoyle will remain at Hosmer, though she’ll be an integral consultant on Apollo’s Praise. Russell’s new venture will produce an inaugural ‘23 vintage of more (presumably) award-winning wines, from experimental Grüner Veltliner to the more crowd-pleasing Riesling, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc. We’ll be first in line to taste. —LEAH STACY
This article appears in Dec 1-31, 2022.
