A-1 Wine & Liquor

Horrible customer service. Been going there for years, but tonight I decided to go on a walk with my dog I held my dog in my hands and was refused service immediately and kicked out of the store. What makes matters worse the owner pretended like he didn’t know me, I used to be his regular customer. No longer.

This liquor store isn’t bad, but it isn’t particularly great either. The selection on certain items, like single malt scotch and vodka, is only middling and the prices are about 10 to 25 dollars more than what I would pay elsewhere. They seem to carry a few rare items, seemingly randomly, like cask strength whiskey, or unusual gems. The staff is polite, but not exactly friendly. They do a pretty good job of creating an atmosphere where you’re free to browse. I’m not an expert in wine by any means, so I can’t really comment on their selection there; but for liquor, you’ll find the basics and maybe one or two interesting things beyond that, but don’t expect much more. I suspect they rely heavily on their proximity to George Washington University, and also maybe the government offices surrounding the store. That said, its not a bad little neighborhood liquor store, and will do in a pinch.

It looks small and dingy from outside but they’ve actually got a pretty sizable selection for your beer, wine, and liquor needs. I myself am a beer man, but none of that college stuff, so I was pleased to come inside and find some pretty good craft brews at a reasonable price. They also have a wide range of tobacco products if that’s your groove too.

Nothing to rave about, nothing to complain about.
I agree that location is key to customers, and on our way from my bf’s office to the metro, we stopped here to pick up some wine and beer to bring to a presidential debate viewing party. (How DC are we?)
Disclaimer: I do NOT drink and know almost nothing about alcohol, but that said, the store did appear to have a large selection of wine and beer. My boyfriend found Sam Adams’ Octoberfest. It’s a big hit in the NE.
For a 6 pack of Sam Adams and a bottle of wine, the price came out to a little under $ 30.
The cashier, and I presume owner, was friendly enough and wished us a good night.

I stop here regularly to pick up stuff for work. This is a solid place and has almost anything you could possibly need for a work meeting — vodka ranging from cheap-​o to fairly fancy, decently priced champagne/​sparkling wine/​regular wine, big things of beer.
I have made two exciting finds here: 1. Seadogs Blueberry Beer! and 2. Grape-​flavored Smirnoff Ice! Seadogs Blueberry is an incredible beer and isn’t too common around here. And I can NEVER find Smirnoff Ice in the flavors that I like: Grape. This was an extremely exciting find and I bought it immediately.
Right about location being key, but even if I were farther away from here I would still choose A-​1 over the other close liquor store on 12^th and E. There is a clear difference in selection and store layout/​brightness making shopping here a joy as opposed to a pain/​chore.

Perfect to stock up for that last minute office happy hour. Respectable selection of beer and wine. Plenty of soda. Really, the location is key here.

Stopped in here the other night again. Have to give them another star to the rating. The staff was knowlegable and incredibly helpful on my last visit. They also keep a couple 12 packs of Coke in the cooler in case you’re looking for that immediate rum and coke when you get home.