Raleigh’s 2023 Best Bartender

Kelly Lynch, Watts & Ward

From rock bottom (“Holy crap was I broke,” she jokes) to rocks queen, meet your 2023 Best Bartender. Coming down to the wire—and a literal handful of votes—Watts & Ward bar wizard Kelly Lynch steals the coveted crown from last year’s winning mixologist Colby Kress. Whether whipping up White Negronis or slinging Miller Lites, the Connecticut native cut her teeth on the Charleston bar circuit at 18 (“so, to my previous employers in Charleston, who are definitely going to read this, yes… I was underage”—sounds like an SC problem) and joined the Watts crew in March 2018. “I took a few-year hiatus to explore other bartending opportunities and also decided to finally use my degrees,” she says of her record run. “Turns out law is not for me, so I came back to Watts in May 2023.” Clearly, Raleigh supports this choice. We’ll have what she’s pouring. 

Fave drink to make? A Miller Lite (joking… sort of). Since participating in The Cocktail Classic, I now have a newfound love for making White Negronis. 

Least fave to make? Tiki drinks (I’m allergic to pineapple.) 

Your go-to drink order? A boilermaker

Your bartending backstory: I moved from New York to Charleston at 18. I was completely on my own—and holy crap was I broke. The only jobs I was able to get were hosting at a restaurant or fast food (you know—what 18YOs usually do for work). But, I had rent and a ton of new bills, and I knew from working in restaurants in New York just how much bartenders walk home with. So I walked into a dive bar in Charleston where I knew money was under the table, filled out an application and got a job as a bartender. 

18?!: Confidence is key—and I have literally lived by the phrase ‘Fake it till you make it.’ I wish I could describe every bouncer’s face when I wore a 21st birthday sash on my 21st birthday walking into all the bars I had been going to for years (and some of them I even worked at). 

Mentor?Jamien Tomlinson

When you’re not behind the bar? I write/produce my own music, and I’m a DJ! I’ve played at some of the more popular bars on Glenwood, and I’m known for DJing a lot of Taylor Swift-themed events. 

Your DJ name? SKYLAN

Fave bar (not your own)? Willco

Fave restaurant? Stanbury

Podcast pick? Am I lame? I don’t listen to podcasts. I read a lot of books though. 

Cocktail book? Death & Co Welcome Home and The Dead Rabbit Mixology & Mayhem are my new favorites.

Show you’re currently bingeing? Anything with Gordon Ramsay

In a past life? I was actually going to school for law. I did my undergraduate in San Diego and graduated with a major in psychology and a minor in cultural anthropology.

Advice to current/future bartenders? Don’t put ‘No No’ spicy bitters in a spray bottle. You will end up macing yourself and the entire bar.