EDMONDS — What do you do if you own two bars less than a mile apart?

If you’re Kali and Kris Kelnero, the owners of Kelnero and Vinbero in Edmonds, you have them duke it out in a monthly cocktail competition.

The four-day showdown, titled Battle of the Bars, gives each location a chance to recreate classic cocktails, albeit with some artistic flourish from the people behind the bar.

“It gives the bartenders, a different bartender each month, just some little room to be artistic and explore and make something really interesting,” Kris Kelnero said.

Visitors can vote on their favorite rendition, with each vote entering participants into a raffle to win a prize.

As Halloween weekend rounded out, so did the final score for October’s cocktail, the Zombie.

The fruity, rum-forward beverage dates back to the ’30s when it was featured on the menu of Don the Beachcomber, the first in the genre of what is now referred to as tiki bars, according to the boozy review and recommendation platform, Distiller.

“Tiki is great because it’s a lot of juice, a lot of different flavored rums,” Kris Kelnero said. “There’s just a lot of spice and fruit happening, and so all these drinks are going to kind of follow that direction with little tweaks here and there, but it’s definitely a marriage of flavor.”

While the Kelneros’ eateries had some added competition from a third competitor, Calypso Edmonds, it was Kelnero that took home first place by only one vote.

The couple opened Kelnero in 2019 with an emphasis on cocktails, highlighted by the bar’s around 60 signature cocktails.

“One of our big motivations for opening Kelnero is that we didn’t feel like there was anybody that took cocktails really seriously up here this far north of the city,” Kali Kelnero said.

While the signature cocktails list may look intimidating, Kali Kelnero said the bar’s goal is to “make a better drink than anyone else” while still being approachable to the casual cocktail fans.

“We’re not here to make people feel guilty or bad,” Kali Kelnero said. “We’re just here to help people have a good time and taste something that actually tastes amazing.”

Two years after Kelnero’s opening, the couple opened Vinbero in the former location of The Cheesemonger’s Table.

Compared to its warmer and moodier Pacific Northwest-inspired predecessor, Vinbero is an all-ages eatery with a European flair and a focus on natural wines.

“We always just think you should run a business like a good citizen,” Kali Kelnero said.

For the Kelneros, that means sourcing products from providers that care about the environment, their employees and what goes into the food.

“It’s just about the service,” she said. “It’s helping people discover their next favorite wine, and just curating in a way that they can trust that it’s going to be interesting. It’s going to have a story behind it.”

Despite the bars’ differences, Kelnero and Vinbero occasionally find themselves on the same wavelength. One such case was September’s rendition of the Painkiller, where both locations independently included miso in the typically fruit-forward drink.

“The idea was we take a modern classic,” Kali Kelnero said. “Something that’s pretty vague but has a distinct build, like a margarita or a sour, and then just make kind of a wild version.”

Battle of the Bars got its start around two years ago, partially as marketing for Vinbero’s cocktail menu, Kali Kelnero said.

“We opened without a liquor license,” Kali Kelnero said about Vinbero. “So when we finally got a spirits license over there, it was a while after we had opened. So a lot of people just didn’t know that we had cocktails.”

While Kelnero had an initial winning streak, Vinbero eventually found its rhythm, she said. Now, each place comes in first around half the time.

Vinbero’s bar manager, Billy Farrow, said the main goals for Battle of the Bars is to “a) make something that is truly a unique riff on the particular drink, and b) create something that tastes good.”

“As a general rule, folks who regularly participate as BOTB drink consumers have one drink at each place,” Farrow said in an email. “But the ultimate compliment is when they order a second (or sometimes third) drink because they enjoy it so much!”

Although Farrow’s typical day is less about thinking up cocktails and more about Vinbero’s wine offerings.

“We’re a natural wine bar, a term that I think can be confusing or off-putting to some, but I love selecting wines that fit the vision we’re aiming for and also taste delicious,” Farrow said. “We have a constantly rotating glass-pour and happy hour program, as well as a wide variety of wines from around the world that are really unique.”

While not every month, The Battle of the Bars moonlights as a fundraiser for local organizations.

Thea Barrett has been a regular since the bar opened, as well as participating in many of the competitions.

“It’s a little bit different,” she said. “So it’s fun to try something new.”

Her personal favorite round was the lemon drop.

“I still remember it, even though it was probably several years ago,” she said.

This month’s battle starts on Nov. 19, when Kelnero and Vinbero will craft their versions of an Old Fashioned. If you can’t wait, Vinbero is hosting its fine dining pop-up, Supper Club, on Nov. 13 and 14.

If you go

Kelnero is located at 545 Main St in Edmonds. It’s open from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until midnight Friday and Saturday.

Vinbero is located at 203 5th Ave S #1 in Edmonds. It’s open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, until 6 p.m. Sunday and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Jenna Millikan: 425-339-3035; jenna.millikan@heraldnet.com; X: @JennaMillikan