Will Lester
Dovetail Bar | New Orleans
SEPTEMBER 2022
At first glance, bartending and military intelligence don’t have much in common. However, Will Lester finds that getting to know his customers across the bar is strangely similar to his role in the military. When he was discharged, he moved to Alaska, craving fresh air and a change of pace. But after visiting his sister in New Orleans, he fell in love with the city and its people, and never left. Lester landed a serving gig at Johnny Sánchez, and was quickly promoted to bartender. He became fascinated with New Orleans cocktail culture, reading about its history and visiting the city’s most important bars. But it was The Décolletage—a delicate combination of tequila, Dubonnet Rouge, Aperol, and Fernet Branca created by Rising Stars alum Chris Hannah that pushed Lester to make bartending his career.
Lester continued to cut his teeth at ambitious bar programs around New Orleans—he was on the opening team of Curio, followed by a stint at Justine, then spent time at Palm&Pine and The Chloe. In 2022, he became beverage director of Dovetail Bar, a chic, intimate cocktail destination located within the Schaeffer Hotel. Lester and his small team of talented bartenders create precise, craveable cocktails with an emphasis on shrubs and low-ABV, like the Back To My Roots—a refreshing mix of aquavit, blanc vermouth, and house-made celery-cucumber soda.
