Lynnette Marrero

Tales of the Cocktail Foundation 2025 “Tales Visionary Award”-winner, Co-Founder of Speed Rack, MasterClass.com host; Partner of Milly’s Neighborhood Bar; Partner and Chief Mixologist, Delola; Co-Author of A Quick Drink: The Speed Rack Guide to Winning Cocktails for Any Mood

Lynnette Marrero is an award-winning bartender, operator (Milly’s), educator, entrepreneur, and co-founder of all-femme high-speed bartending competition Speed Rack. Widely recognized as one of the industry’s most influential leaders, she received Tales of the Cocktail’s prestigious “Tales Visionary Award” in 2025 and has consistently placed in the top ranks of Drinks International’s “Bar World 100” from 2019 through 2025. Her co-authored book, A Quick Drink: The Speed Rack Guide to Winning Cocktails for Any Mood (April 2024), earned nominations for both the 2025 James Beard Media Awards and Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards. As partner and Liquid Creative Director for non-alcoholic spirits company Aplós, co-founder of the Masterclass Mixology platform, and Head of Education for Bar Convent Brooklyn since 2022, Lynnette has built a career defined by bringing craft cocktail expertise to the widest possible audience.

Speed Rack, which she co-founded with Ivy Mix in 2011, stands as one of her most enduring contributions to the industry. Now entering its 14th season, the all-femme high-speed competition has raised more than $1.85 million for breast cancer research and prevention while launching countless careers and fundamentally reshaping who the industry sees behind the bar. The work has earned Lynnette and Ivy two 2019 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards for “World’s Best Bar Mentors” and the inaugural “Philanthropy Award,” as well as The Pink Agenda’s “Icon Award” in 2023. In 2021, her peers recognized her influence directly with the coveted “Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award” from The World’s 50 Best Bars.

Lynnette’s path began at NYC’s Flatiron Lounge alongside cocktail pioneer Julie Reiner, and has since taken her from Diageo Rum Ambassador to Masterclass educator to industry visionary. From building award-winning bar programs at Llama Inn and Llama San, which earned a 2022 James Beard Award nomination for “Outstanding Bar Program,” to launching Delola in partnership with Jennifer Lopez and opening Milly’s Neighborhood Bar in New York City, Lynnette consistently finds new ways to push the industry forward.