Manager, Experiential Beverage Strategy - NYC

Suntory Global Spirits•New York City, NY

3d•Onsite

About The Position

At Suntory Global Spirits, we craft spirits of the highest quality and deliver brilliant experiences to people around the world. Suntory Global Spirits has evolved into the world's third largest leading premium spirits company ... where each employee is treated like family and trusted with legacy. With our greatest assets - our premium spirits and our people - we're driving growth through impactful marketing, innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit. Suntory Global Spirits is a place where you can come Unleash your Spirit by making an impact each and every day. The Manager, Experiential Beverage Strategy is responsible for developing and executing beverage strategies that bring brand positioning to life across experiential, corporate, and trade-facing platforms. This role partners cross-functionally with brand, marketing, and commercial teams to deliver scalable serve strategies, impactful programming, and best-in-class hospitality experiences. This role also incorporates a global perspective, leveraging knowledge of international beverage strategy, emerging cocktail trends, and cultural nuances to ensure relevance and scalability across markets beyond the U.S. and NYC HQ. In addition, this role provides hands-on support within the NYC HQ bars during peak, high-volume, or priority moments, ensuring continuity of service, elevated guest experience, and operational relief for the NYC bartender when needed.

Requirements

5–8+ years of experience in hospitality, mixology, beverage strategy, or related field
Strong understanding of cocktail development, spirits, and bar operations
Knowledge of global beverage trends, cocktail culture, and emerging techniques
Comfort working hands-on in fast-paced bar environments as needed, particularly during high-volume events or activations
Experience supporting brand activations, events, or experiential marketing
Demonstrated ability to work cross-functionally with marketing and commercial teams

Nice To Haves

WSET certification is preferred
Strategic thinking with ability to translate ideas into execution
Strong relationship-building and influencing skills
Creativity and innovation in beverage development and programming
Project management and ability to manage multiple priorities
High attention to detail and commitment to quality and hospitality excellence

Responsibilities

Develop, recommend, and execute beverage/serve strategies that support the Crafted Liquid (signature taste) of our brands, leveraging MBC (Mindful Beverage Creation) principles to translate the science of flavor into cocktails and serves that amplify and elevate the brand’s signature taste.
Translate liquid truth into recommended cocktails, rituals, and guest experiences.
Incorporate global beverage trends, techniques, and cultural insights to inform forward-looking, market-relevant drink strategies.
Partner with brand and marketing teams to ensure consistency across all touchpoints – from experiential through to POS & social media.
Lead beverage strategy for corporate communication events, brand activations as requested, and Suntory Holdings engagements.
Support execution of high-profile events both within the NYC HQ (in concert with the NYC bartender) and externally as a subject matter expert.
Provide on-the-ground support behind the bar at NYC HQ during high-traffic periods, key events, or staffing gaps to ensure seamless execution and hospitality excellence.
Ensure elevated hospitality standards and seamless guest experience delivery.
Build and maintain strong relationships with key bartenders and bar partners in NYC, across the U.S., and select global markets as relevant.
Drive brand advocacy and visibility within the hospitality community.
Identify opportunities for partnerships, collaborations, and industry engagement.
Develop and deliver brand education, training materials, and serve guidelines.
Support internal and external training to elevate product knowledge and storytelling.
Create scalable tools to ensure consistency in execution.
Partner with the Chicago-based mixology lead to support RFP development and national programming.
Contribute to pitch work with beverage concepts and experiential ideas.
Collaborate across global and regional teams to ensure alignment, scalability, and sharing of best practices.
Adapt beverage strategies to meet the needs of diverse markets while maintaining brand integrity and Crafted Liquid principles.