Lynnette Marrero: About the Award-Winning Mixologist

Lynnette Marrero is a famous mixologist, bar director, and philanthropist. She has won a James Beard Award for mixology and presents industry seminars at the bartending convention Tales of the Cocktail. Lynnette began her mixology career at The Flatiron Lounge, a Manhattan restaurant, working alongside mixologist and bar owner Julie Reiner. She then became a Rum Ambassador for the UK-based alcoholic beverages company Diageo.

Lynnette started her own consulting company, Drinksat6, and later became beverage director at New York's Rye House, winning Time Out's Eat Out Award for Best New Cocktail Bar in 2010. She and consulting partner Jim Kearns customized the cocktail program at Astor Room in the Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York City. She also heads the bar programs at other acclaimed eateries, including the Peruvian restaurant Llama Inn in Brooklyn and sister restaurant Llama San in Manhattan.

Lynnette is a leader in the global renaissance of craft cocktails. Learn more about this James Beard Award–winner and her career with these five facts:

1. 1. Her identity plays into her business ethos. Lynnette is a New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent—she refers to herself as a “Nuyorican”—and tenets of cocktail culture mirror her heritage. The marriage of hospitality and family, the inspiration of global culinary influences, and a social setting where people come together to share ideas influence her approach to crafting cocktails.
2. 2. She founded the New York chapter of LUPEC. Lynnette founded the New York chapter of Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails (LUPEC). This organization fosters sisterhood, shares stories, and focuses on the history of cocktail culture, from the Gin Fizz to the Widow’s Kiss.
3. 3. She is a leader in the field. In 2009, the James Beard Foundation named Lynnette one of America’s Leading Female Mixologists. Food & Wine and Fortune Magazine named Lynnette among the Most Innovative Women in Food and Drink in 2015. The Tales of the Cocktails named Lynnette one of the World’s Best Bar Mentors in 2019. Lynnette also won the Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award in 2021.
4. 4. She is the co-founder of Speed Rack. Lynnette cocreated the world's first all-woman speed bartending competition, Speed Rack, in 2011. The competition, established with bartender Ivy Mix, brings together women mixologists from the best bars worldwide, with the finals held in New York City. Speed Rack raises funds for breast cancer education, prevention, and research, all while spotlighting women bartenders in a male-dominated industry.
5. 5. She sees cocktail mixing as a highly creative field. Lynnette draws equal measure from memory and new experiences to create her drink programs. Her drinks show that experimentation and precision can result in stunning alchemy.

Whether you want to become a host with the most or create a perfect cocktail for one, Lynnette and Ryan will show you how to mix unusual but complementary ingredients to achieve a killer drink. You can expect these five highlights and more from their class on mixology, available exclusively on MasterClass:

1. 1. Batch cocktails for parties. Learn to make Lynnette’s Llama Del Rey recipe, a Peruvian sangria. You can batch this cocktail to serve large groups. “I like to look to my favorite single-serving cocktails to make into a punch, or I build drinks specifically made to be punches,” Lynnette says. “I like to have those around so that way, as my guests arrive, I can have something prepared for them.”
2. 2. Find your inspiration. Lynnette often finds inspiration for new cocktails in cookbooks and from food menus. “My philosophy on drink-making really comes from a culinary perspective,” Lynnette says. “It's incredible to see how you can combine things such as a spirit with sugars and citrus and create a beautifully complex cocktail. . .finding inspiration from cookbooks and places where people have studied different aromas and compounds and how they come together. You want to work with textures. You want to work with flavors.”
3. 3. Learn to balance flavors. Lynnette shares a secret of how she and Ryan test bartenders. “In our bars, Ryan and I both use a similar approach to figure out where our bartenders are starting from,” she says. “We use a simple test, which is making lemonade. As simple as that task might seem, this test really shows how someone balances their sweet, their sour, and water element within a cocktail.”
4. 4. Put a spin on a classic. Classic cocktails are great standbys, but you can elevate and personalize them with an easy lift. Try a twist on a party punch with Lynnette’s For Whom the Bellflower Tolls, and sweeten a negroni with the Toffee Negroni recipe.
5. 5. Understand the palate. “A crucial part to understanding making cocktails is to really understand how the palate works and how people perceive liquids in their mouths,” Lynnette says. “People have different taste buds, different sensories, different sensitivities to different things. . . . I enjoy things that are a little more tart and a little more fresh. Understanding how my palate works helps me also to understand how I'm viewing the cocktails I'm making.”

To learn more about preparing libations and experimenting with ingredients, consider the following classes:

1. 1. Dominique Crenn on modern vegetarian cooking: Dominique Crenn is one of the most celebrated chefs in the world, known for her three-Michelin-starred restaurant, Atelier Crenn. Watch Dominique’s class and download the corresponding Class Guide to learn about sustainable ingredients, various ways to prepare vegetables, and how to make a Kir Breton, a cocktail featuring hard apple cider and crème de cassis.
2. 2. James Suckling on wine appreciation: James Suckling is a wine master, journalist, and critic. Watch James’s class to learn about viticulture, tasting techniques, and wine etiquette.
3. 3. Wolfgang Puck on cooking: Wolfgang Puck is a James Beard Foundation Award–winning restaurateur and one of the world’s most successful chefs. Take Wolfgang’s class to learn how to develop your palate, cook recipes, and mix classic cocktails, including his take on the Negroni and a Peach Bellini.

Learn more about mixology from award-winning bartenders Lynnette Marrero and Ryan Chetiyawardana. Refine your palate, explore the world of spirits, and shake up the perfect cocktail for your next gathering with the MasterClass Annual Membership.