Q&A With Yael Vengroff

Lady bartenders are badasses. Like their male counterparts, they mix drinks, make conversation and keep a smile all the while, but in a male-dominated drinks world, their cocktail prowess is often overlooked. But that’s been changing, thanks in part to efforts like Speed Rack, a fledgling cocktail competition in which female bartenders across the country compete in timed prelims where they must accurately mix a number of (often obscure) cocktails. In just a year, Speed Rack has boosted the revere of female bartenders, while raising money for breast cancer research, and last week in New York City, the competition crowned its first national champion, Yael Vengroff.