Lynnette Marrero

Master Mixologist, Author, Co-Founder at Speed Rack

Speaker

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

Lynnette Marrero’s career began when she accepted a job at NYC’s Flatiron Lounge alongside cocktail-savant Julie Reiner. Marrero quickly made the transition from cocktail waitress to bartender and knew the spirits industry was her true calling. She then moved quickly from senior bartender at Freemans to consulting and co-designing the bar program for Elettaria in Manhattan's West Village. Next, upon shadowing a Zacapa Rum Master Blender in Guatemala and working as a Rum Ambassador for Diageo for two years, she returned to New York and created her own company, Drinksat6, cultivating a new generation of cocktail bartenders and elevating restaurant bars.

In 2015, Marrero opened and was the Bar Director of Brooklyn hotspot Llama Inn and Greenwich Village’s Llama San, which was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award for “Outstanding Bar Program” in 2022. Marrero has won Time Out Eat Out awards for “Best New Cocktail Bar” and “Best Bar Restaurant Hybrid” for her work as beverage director at Rye House. Marrero has also been honored by the James Beard Foundation as one of “America’s Leading Female Mixologists” 2009, named Food & Wine and Fortune Magazine’s “Most Innovative Women in Food and Drink” in 2015, and Wine Enthusiasts’ “Mixologist of the Year” in 2016. In July 2019, Marrero received the Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Award for “World’s Best Bar Mentors” and the inaugural “Philanthropy Award” alongside Speed Rack Co-Founder Ivy Mix. She has placed in the top ranks of the Drinks International “Bar World 100” in 2019-2025. In 2025, Lynnette was awarded Tales of the Cocktail’s “Tales Visionary Award”.

Marrero launched the Masterclass Mixology platform in March 2020, and in 2021, she was awarded the coveted “Altos Bartenders’ Bartender Award” from The World’s 50 Best Bars. In April 2023, Lynnette launched Delola, a line of ready-to-enjoy craft spritzes in partnership with Jennifer Lopez. That same year, Marrero and Mix were awarded with The Pink Agenda’s “Icon Award” for their contribution to the fight against breast cancer. Marrero co-authored A Quick Drink: The Speed Rack Guide to Winning Cocktails for Any Mood with Ivy Mix and Megan Krigbaum which published April 2024 and received nominations for the 2025 James Beard Media Awards and Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards. Also in 2025, she became a partner of Milly’s Neighborhood Bar in New York City.

Other notable projects by Marrero include creating the bar program for Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream, being the National Brand Mixologist for Perrier Sparkling Water and San Pellegrino Sparkling Fruit Beverages, and she is a partner of and Liquid Creative Director for the Non-Alcoholic spirits company Aplós. She has been honored on HOLA! Magazine’s 100 Powerhouse Latina list, an annual initiative celebrating the most influential and inspiring Latinas, and has served as the Head of Education for Bar Convent Brooklyn since 2022.