Lead Bartender - Craft Cocktails

About the role

Yugen is a new entertainment-forward craft cocktail and sushi venue opening in Silverthorne — roughly 90 seats across a cocktail bar, racing simulator booths, gaming area, and sushi counter. We're hiring a Craft Bartender to execute our cocktail program at a high level on the line and help keep the menu fresh with new specials. You'll work under our Bar Manager with a bartender assistant supporting you.

This is not a learning role. If you're trying to break into craft cocktails, this isn't it. If you can pick up a spec sheet, build the drink correctly the first time, hold the line through a Saturday rush, and bring real ideas to a menu rotation, keep reading.

What you'll do

• Execute the cocktail menu to spec — every drink, every time
• Build classics correctly from memory
• Develop and pitch new cocktails for seasonal menu rotations and weekly specials, in collaboration with the Bar Manager
• Work clean and fast during peak service
• Train the bartender assistant on prep, garnish work, and support tasks
• Maintain bar standards, cleanliness, and station setup
• Treat presentation as part of the craft — our themed glassware and garnish work is a key part of the guest experience

You should have

• 3+ years bartending, with at least 2 years in a dedicated craft cocktail program (a real program, not a restaurant with a cocktail list)
• Strong command of classic specs — Old Fashioned, Daiquiri, Negroni, Manhattan, Martini, Sour, Margarita, Sidecar, etc. — built correctly and consistently
• Working knowledge across base categories — agave, whisk(e)y, rum, gin, amaro
• A creative point of view — you have drinks you've built that you're proud of and can defend
• Speed without sacrificing precision
• Calm hands during a deep ticket queue

Bonus

• Sake, shochu, or Japanese spirits experience
• Background in entertainment-forward bar concepts (gaming venues, sports bars, music venues)
• Sushi-pairing experience
• Personal interest or background in any of our venue's themes — automotive, professional racing (F1, IMSA, WEC, NASCAR), sim racing, video games, Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, or tabletop gaming. Our regulars will share these interests and we want bartenders who can talk shop.

The space

Approximately 90 seats across four zones: cocktail bar, racing simulator booths, gaming area, and an 8-seat sushi counter. Year-round operation — not seasonal. Strong volume expected on weekends and holiday weeks.

Compensation

• $16–22/hr base depending on experience, plus tips
• Full-time, year-round, set schedule once we open

To apply

Send a resume and your three best original cocktail specs — ingredients, build, glassware, garnish, and one sentence on what you're trying to do.

Pay: $16.00 - $22.00 per hour

Benefits:

• Paid time off

Work Location: In person