2026 Bartender of the Year Nominees

RM reveals its 2026 Bartender of the Year noms.

There are bartenders—and then there are craftspeople. The ones who know why your martini is served colder, your garnish is there on purpose, and that balanced cocktail somehow tastes effortless. 

Now in its fifth year, Raleigh Mag’s Bartender of the Year Award is celebrating the pioneers who’ve helped shape the city’s cocktail culture. As owners and founders of some of our city’s finest institutions, this year’s cast cut their teeth behind the stick before opening concepts of their own, mentoring the next gen and redefining what it means to drink well in Raleigh.

They may no longer all be pouring your whiskey on any given Tuesday—but their fingerprints are all over that glass. 

Voting opens Oct. 1, so dive in, drink up and cast your vote. And for extra credit, catch this year’s nominees in action at RM’s annual The Cocktail Classic, Saturday, Nov. 14, at The Exchange Raleigh, where this year’s noms will step back behind the bar for an evening of unlimited cocktails, mic’d-up demos, elevated bites, DJ sets and indulgent experiences. Trust, we’re raising the bar. 

Meet Your 2026 Bartender of the Year Nominees

Josh Gagne | Killjoy
When it comes to bars, Gagne gets it. That sense of belonging is precisely what drew him to build his own. Knowing he wanted to own a business since his sandbox days, the Killjoy co-owner had his “aha” moment in college. Because bars aren’t just a place to grab a drink—they’re a stage where every element (lighting, music, aromas, flavors) has a role to play. After earning his stripes at Zinda, helping open Haymaker and consulting on bars across the Triangle, Gagne is still driven by one simple purpose: “making people feel comfortable.”

Katie O’Kane | Gussie’s + The Hippo Wine Bar
After falling for the craft while working between theater jobs at Manhattan’s Raines Law Room, Gussie’s resident impresario didn’t just move to Raleigh for the hell of it—but because she believed in its budding bar scene. Together with husband Clayton and business partner Vance Daniels, she’s helped shape that community by building lived-in bars like Gussie’s and The Hippo that feel like “new versions of an old idea.” But for the sommelier, success isn’t measured solely in perfect pours—but whether, at last call, she can say: “I think we made a lot of people happy tonight.”  

Kevin Barrett | Dram & Draught
If you know Barrett, then you know he was “born this way.” Serving drinks since Seinfeld was on TV, the spirits steward made his way through such Raleigh institutions as Foundation, C. Grace and Fox Liquor Bar before rolling up the garage door on Dram & Draught’s flagship. The vision? Take the best parts of those bars and blend them into one welcoming neighborhood bar vibe. Six Drams—and a spirits brand—later, it’s safe to say he nailed it. And it all comes back to his philosophy: “Service is what you do for someone. Hospitality is how you make them feel.”

Kyle Hankin | Foundation
“Hospitality over everything.” That’s the MO for the man now steering the bar that laid the foundation (pun fully intended) for DTR’s cocktail culture. But before taking the reins at Foundation from OG owners Will Alphin and Vince Whitehurst, Hankin ran the Raleigh circuit—P.F. Chang’s, PieBird, Rye Bar at the Marriott Hotel, Fox Liquor Bar. Turns out, they picked the right guy. “People have a million reasons to go out to a bar, it is our responsibility to meet guests where they are and try to make their decision a good one.”

Lewis Norton | Bittersweet
Belly up at his bar and throw Norton a Norm-like “Lewis!” The Cheers-loving brains behind Bittersweet learned early bars can be more than watering holes—they can be a community. After finding his footing at Foundation—and “an outlet for my inner nerd through food science and cocktail chemistry”—he knew there was no turning back. Not long after, wife & business partner Kim Hammer recruited him to help open Bittersweet—and the rest is sweet history. Having added Yacht Club and Bitter Social to the mix, his approach remains: fostering the next gen of bar pros while keeping Raleigh social—one bar at a time.

Lily Ballance | William & Company
If you’ve been around Raleigh bars, you’ve been around Ballance. Breaking onto the scene at City Limits 23 years ago slinging Buds—and soaked in beer-tub water—a few-night favor became an industry love affair. With OGs Mosquito Nightclub, White Collar Crime and Five Star under her belt, Ballance has built a Mexican spirits empire with Willco and La Veladora—plus the Five Star reboot—that has shaped Raleigh nightlife one pour at a time. “I love making a birthday special or buying a round of shots to get a night going. Hospitality’s always been something I value and admire when it’s done right.”

Marshall Davis | Peyote Mini-Bar
Dollar beers may be cheap—but that doesn’t mean they can’t be meaningful. Davis got his start pouring $1 beers and wells at The Keg while wrapping his design degree at NC State. Fifteen-plus years later, the Peyote pourmaster has made the Raleigh rounds from Bida Manda to Centro, Gallo Pelón, Locals Oyster Bar, Mala Pata and Big Cat. The linchpin? A 2012 pour of mezcal-turned-obsession—not with drinking, but with tasting, learning and sharing. After helping open NC’s first mezcaleria in 2015, Davis brought that ethos to Peyote: “Give me something simple, done with intention, using quality spirits. Four touches is enough.”

Matt Bettinger | Mr. Henry
“Welcome to my home, enjoy the party! Can I get you a drink?” So goes the playbook for Bettinger. Before masterminding Mr. Henry—or lording the lounge at C. Grace, Hank’s and SideBar—he cut his teeth as a 21-year-old at South, followed by stops at Fayetteville Street Tavern, Martin Street Pizza (“Oh, the drama!”), Porter’s, Duck & Dumpling, Foundation and Capital Club 16, plus East Coast guest shifts. Along the way, he honed the lived-in style that’s become his calling card. Because to him, the bartender has always been the hub of the room—and “I just happened to be really good at throwing a party.”  

Matt Coleman | The Davie
With two decades behind the stick, the “hospitality first, cocktails second” Davie frontman has spent his career honing his hosting skills—from storied Raleigh staples like Alibi and Bogart’s to The Oxford and Fox Liquor Bar. And it all started because he couldn’t stop peppering ’tenders with questions until someone finally handed him a shift. Determined to build a lasting “home” for career bartenders and the guests who love them, Coleman believes the best bars are built on connection, not cocktails. “We want you to remember the night, not just the old-fashioned.”

Zack Medford | Tap Yard
If the bar scene had a mayor, it’d be Medford. Long before he became synonymous with Isaac Hunter’s, Coglin’s, Parliament, Tap Yard and many, many more, he was perfecting the art of the party as NCSU’s self-appointed Keg Master—pouring cheap beer with finesse and making friends one red Solo cup at a time. That knack carried him from Sam Snead’s to Buckhead Saloon and Old Bar before building some of DTR’s most recognizable bars. Two-plus decades later, the mission hasn’t changed: “When you’re working at a bar you have one job—throw a party where everyone can have fun.”

Headshot photographer credits: Bettinger, Hankin & O’Kane: Sean Junqueira; Lily Ballance: Mike Noe; Davis: Baxter Miller