When Speed Rack returns to New York on March 9, the energy inside Mellrose Ballroom won’t feel like a typical industry event. It will feel more like a punk concert meets an athletic showdown — with perfectly executed cocktails flying across the bar.
Now in its 14th U.S. season, the all-women and femme bartending competition has become a global force, raising more than $1.85 million for breast cancer education, prevention and research since its founding in 2011. Organizers are aiming to surpass $2 million this year. The high-energy event has lit up Brooklyn stages before, and this March, it returns to New York ready to shake, stir and rally once again.
Founded by spirits industry veterans Lynette Marrero and Ivy Mix, Speed Rack was born out of a moment when the modern cocktail renaissance was taking off — but women weren’t always centered in the story.
“We started on Speed Rack in June 2011,” Marrero told Brooklyn Paper. “I keep joking, you know, this year is our quinceañera — even though we’re in Season 14, because we had a gap year with the pandemic, so it took an extra long time to finish that season.”
In the early days of the craft cocktail boom, Marrero described an industry that initially felt open to anyone willing to put in the work. But as cocktail culture gained mainstream popularity around 2008 and 2009, a particular image began to dominate.
“What everyone thought was the meme of this bar movement had to be the classic bartender with arm garters and a mustache and suspenders,” she said. “Women weren’t fitting into that look.”
At the same time, talented women were everywhere — often working just as hard, if not harder.
“I’d go into these bars and the star bartender guy is in the front working on drinks for three people, and there’s this amazing bartender and she is cranking out drinks for hundreds of people,” Marrero said.
“She said, ‘I’ve been really thinking about this.’ I think that if we actually could do a real competition that highlights women’s talent — something about them making cocktails, focusing on what they actually do — that would matter,” Marrero recalled.
The format they built was intentionally demanding. Competitors are judged on speed, accuracy, taste and presentation. In each heat, bartenders prepare four classic cocktails as quickly as possible while judges add penalty seconds for any execution flaws.
“There’s so much athleticism,” Marrero said. “They’re making these four-drink rounds, and the judges taste the cocktails side by side and add penalty seconds based on execution.”
Only the fastest and most precise move forward, culminating in a National Finals showdown in July at The Republic during Tales of the Cocktail.
For Mix, the competition’s secret isn’t just the format — it’s the culture.
“The real thing about Speed Rack is the culture and the community that is together,” she told Brooklyn Paper. “It’s almost like a big sorority.”
Before every event, Mix tells the competitors the same thing:
“Only one of you is going to win today. There are 25 of you here — only one is going to win. It literally is anyone’s game. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter if you win. Just being in this room, the practicing you did for the weeks before this, the fact that we live stream all of our events and have people from all over the world watching — someone will reach out to you.”
That global web has grown season after season, connecting bartenders from New York to Mexico to Chicago and beyond.
“It’s a cultural phenomenon,” Mix said.
And despite the serious mission — raising funds for breast cancer research — the vibe is unmistakably high-energy.
“Breast cancer is not a fun subject,” Mix said. “Lack of opportunity for groups of people is not necessarily a fun subject. But the vibe of Speed Rack is — you’re magnificent. People are happy. It’s all for a good cause.”
While the competition tours six cities, from Washington D.C. to Seattle, the New York regional always feels special.
“I’ve recruited a contingency of people who are coming on the train to hop over,” Marrero laughed. “You’re going to be in a room of people who are supportive and fun and electric.”
For $25, attendees can sample cocktails, cheer on competitors and be part of something bigger than a night out.
“What else could you possibly be doing on a Monday that’s more fun than Speed Rack?” Mix said. “I don’t think it exists. And you’re home by 10.”
She describes it best: “Speed Rack is like roller derby meets a girl punk band. It’s kind of punk, athletic. It’s camaraderie, it’s competition. There are fans, signs and tons of jokes. It’s just a really good time.”
Speed Rack NYC Regionals comes to the Melrose Ballroom on March 9. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased here.
