In celebration of Women’s History Month and this magazine’s first themed issue, we introduce you to Lindsay Palumbo. When it comes to our theme, we’re celebrating cocktails galore, and Palumbo is a flair bartender—a bartender who makes cocktails in an entertaining way. When it comes to celebrating all things women this month, Palumbo is one of only a few female flair bartenders in the city and the only one at Circa Resort & Casino, where you can find her flairing at Overhang Bar. 

“I’m big on women empowerment, especially being in a male-dominated field like flair bartending,” says the Ohio native. Palumbo moved to Las Vegas in 2017, a couple of years after she first visited the city and witnessed flair bartending for the first time and says she thought, “That was the coolest thing I’d ever seen and I could do that!” So she cut her teeth at various flair bars around the city, built up her skills and began a full-time flair bartending career at The D, eventually moving over to its sister property, Circa, when it first opened in 2020. 

Palumbo has expanded her love for flair by working it into nearly every facet of her life: she’s created an annual flair bartending competition to benefit local nonprofit Shade Tree; she teaches beginner’s flair bartending classes for women; she’s been featured on TV shows, documentaries, social media and podcasts promoting the industry; and she’s competed all over the country and abroad.

“In a way it’s how I identify,” she said. “It’s not easy being a woman in this field … but every job I’ve gotten is because I’ve put in the hard work. It’s definitely been an interesting journey, to say the least.”

Photo: Christopher DeVargas

Libation

Tourist Mai Tai

“I love Overhang Bar; it’s my favorite bar on the property,” Palumbo says. “If you want to party, if you want to see flair, it’s a great vibe up here.” Watch as she flairs cocktails like the Tourist Mai Tai. The tiki-inspired cocktail is a mix of three different rums, orange and pineapple juices, and grenadine with a Myers’s Rum float.

Benefit: Overhang Bar pays homage to the overhang section in Tiger Stadium in Detroit, hometown of Circa owner Derek Stevens.