Review: Distillery serves good jazz, cigars, cocktails and bar food like bologna sliders

Something very unique for Vero Beach is happening on 13th Avenue. It’s the 21st Amendment Distillery.

That we have a whiskey distillery in the downtown area is exciting enough, but 21 ^st Amendment Distillery is also a very cool hangout featuring live music, including good jazz, some pretty impressive cigars and some top-notch — if limited — food menu items.

The place is a labor of love respecting American history, and is the brainchild of a former Marine Corps member. On the wall above the door, there are flags from deceased veterans encased in local, handmade oak boxes. As you move to the back, you’ll see a panel of dog tags honoring those who served. A giant rendering of Abe Lincoln brings it all together.

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I am a food writer, so I won’t go deep into the cocktails, but let me tell you, libations here are really outstanding. At 21st Amendment Distillery, I had one of the best Old-Fashioned ever. This bourbon cocktail, called the Forefathers Old Fashioned here, was pretty legendary, made with bourbon distilled in-house. My tablemates all enjoyed their drinks, including the Boston Tea Party, made with bourbon, rye, honey, lemon, grapefruit and tea.

But that’s enough about alcohol. I’m here to tell you about the food, and each food item we tried was very delicious, elegantly presented and amazingly well-priced.

Beef empanadas ($13) were tender crust pockets stuffed with spicy beef. Clearly, they are not your frozen variety, but lovingly prepared in-house, is my guess.

When was the last time you had bologna? I haven’t had it since I was a kid, but the bologna sliders ($12) were so good, with fried bologna, American cheese, arugula, kettle chips and the house secret sauce.

My palate for meatballs is a persnickety one since that dish is one of my favorites. These large, tasty meatballs passed my test with flying colors. They are tender with just the right amount of herbs and spices, swimming in a tangy tomato sauce, covered with a fresh herbed ricotta, and served with baguette slices. Fabulous!

Who says a distillery can’t do good pizza? That person is positively wrong. The pepperoni pizza ($14), made with crispy thin crust, has a lovely sauce and is loaded with pepperoni. Get your spicy on, for sure!

A cup of seafood bisque ($7) was the special and it was smooth and tasty. There were a couple other specials we didn’t try but that looked enticing.

Dear vegetarians, there is a burrata salad ($12) that looked good, and fresh whipped ricotta ($9) served with baguette slices was also on the menu.

With a full house and a live jazz duo playing, the noise level was fairly high, as anyone would expect. Seating options are aplenty, with sofas, cushy chairs, cozy high tops, long tables and, of course, a large bar that's beautifully and artistically lit. Brittany, our server, was so professional and warm — a real gem.

Congratulations to owner Jeff Palleschi for bringing such a nice spot to Vero Beach.

21 ^st Amendment Distillery

• Cuisine: American
• Address: 2055 13 ^th Ave., Vero Beach
• Hours: 4-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 4-11 p.m. Friday; noon to 11 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.
• Phone: 772-404-7660
• Online: info@21stdistillery.com
• Alcohol: Full bar

Maribeth Renne dines anonymously at the expense of TCPalm. Contact her at maribeth.d.renne@gmail.com .

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Review: Distillery serves good jazz, cigars, cocktails and bar food like bologna sliders