Cocktail Development Manager

MML Hospitality•Austin, TX

About The Position

The Cocktail Development Manager will play a critical role in shaping and evolving the cocktail identity across all MML restaurant and bar programs. This role is responsible for curating innovative, concept-driven cocktail menus while maintaining strong financial discipline, operational feasibility, and brand consistency.

Requirements

Passion for Beverage & Hospitality: A deep enthusiasm for cocktail culture, hospitality, and guest experience.
Experience: Minimum of 5 years of progressive experience overseeing bar programs, cocktail curation, and hands-on bartending. At least 2 years of experience of leading teams.
Industry Recognition: At least one cocktail development accolade, award, press mention, or notable program achievement that can be referenced.
Creative Vision: Proven ability to develop cocktails that align with specific restaurant concepts while introducing new ideas, trends, and seasonal ingredients.
Financial Acumen: Strong understanding of beverage costs, recipe costing, margins, and inventory control.
Technical Skills: Proficiency in Microsoft Excel
Experience with beverage inventory systems (BinWise preferred)
Working knowledge of Adobe InDesign for producing beverage tech sheets
Collaboration & Communication: Ability to work cross-functionally with operations, procurement, and beverage leadership.

Nice To Haves

Experience with beverage inventory systems (BinWise preferred)

Responsibilities

Curate and develop cocktail recipes for all MML restaurant and bar programs, ensuring each menu reinforces the identity of the individual concept.
Research and introduce new cocktail ideas, techniques, and industry trends while maintaining brand relevance and approachability.
Champion seasonality-minded ingredients and sustainable sourcing practices.
Develop and implement improved garnish techniques and presentation standards.
Partner with procurement and operations teams to select appropriate glassware aligned with concept, functionality, and cost targets.
Collaborate with the beverage leadership team to select and maintain backbar ingredients and standards.
Create detailed beverage recipes, costing tools, and technical documentation to ensure consistency and scalability across locations.
Support beverage training initiatives and assist with rollouts of new cocktail menus.
Monitor beverage performance and costs, identifying opportunities for optimization and innovation.