Food, Home & Lifestyle
Lynnette’s Perspective on Craft Cocktail Culture
Lesson time 03:10 min
Lynnette shares the origins of the craft cocktail movement and how her experience working in the restaurant industry informs her drink-making style. She also discusses the importance of mentorship and empowering women in the industry.
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Topics include: Lynnette’s Perspective on Craft Cocktail Culture
Teach Mixology
World-class bartenders Lynnette and Ryan (aka Mr Lyan) teach you how to make perfect cocktails at home for any mood or occasion.
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[00:00:00.00] [MUSIC PLAYING] [00:00:11.43] - My name is Lynette Moreira. I am a New York City based bartender mixologist, and I found my love of this industry in New York. I was lucky enough to be at the forefront of this current cocktail craze. I starred in wine bars initially, and then I found the beautiful Martini lounges, and I started working in the Irving area of New York. [00:00:33.20] And there was this new bar that opened crosstown. And one of the bartenders, she and I would go over there after we closed. And you'd walk down this beautiful tunnel. And there is just these gorgeous lights, and this beautiful bar. It was all art deco. And there are these three really tall women bartenders, and this was the Flat Iron Lounge. And I became enamored with this world. [00:00:54.77] Julie Reiner, who is my mentor and who was the talent of that bar, she grew up in Hawaii. And she brought fresh juices and all these exotic beautiful cocktails that I'd never seen. The beauty and the character of them just brought me in. So I stalked her for about a year to get a job, and I got hired at the Flat Iron Lounge. [00:01:14.93] I was challenged with my palate everyday there to try new cocktails. And I think that's what opened my eyes to how this world had so many places to go. And I started bartending behind that bar, and I have not looked back. [00:01:30.48] What I found through working at the Flat Iron Lounge, I had access to all these like-minded individuals to geek out about cocktails with, and all these ingredients, but in a space that was really doing high volume. So we were preaching the choir to a much larger pool of people. I had access to people like Simon Ford, who now makes Ford's Gin, and people who were looking to be pioneers. So there's a really wonderful opportunity being involved in this community at that stage. [00:01:57.53] You know, when this craze kind of happened for a while, and the meme of a bartender was mustache and arm garters. And unfortunately, that's not really what we look like. So we demanded change within an industry for it to catch up and reflect who we are. [00:02:10.13] I was extremely fortunate to have opportunities to have access to mentors because I was in New York City in a place where everyone goes. And as I see this industry growing to so many different places all over the country, all over the world, in places that you don't think cocktails are starting, they are. And now, I get the opportunity to mentor the next generation of bartenders to teach them how to find their voice. [00:02:34.68] My philosophy on drink-making really comes from a culinary perspective. 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. [00:02:53.67] You want to work with textures. You want to work with flavors. You can ha...
About the Instructor
James Beard honoree Lynnette Marrero has been at the forefront of the NYC craft cocktail movement. Ryan Chetiyawardana (aka Mr Lyan) is the founder of Dandelyan, named the world’s best bar. They will teach you the essentials of cocktail making, from developing your palate to building your home bar. Learn how to mix a perfectly balanced drink for every occasion and mood—and become your friends’ new favorite bartender.
Featured MasterClass Instructor
Lynnette Marrero & Ryan Chetiyawardana
World-class bartenders Lynnette and Ryan (aka Mr Lyan) teach you how to make perfect cocktails at home for any mood or occasion.
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