James Ives is an experienced bar director, beverage manager, bartender and hospitality consultant with more than a decade of experience developing and managing beverage programs across the United States.

Currently based in Chicago, James serves as Bar Director and Beverage Manager at The Clayton, where his role combines beverage strategy, bar operations and hands-on hospitality leadership.

Alongside his work behind the bar, James founded Sojourner LLC, through which he has worked as a beverage and hospitality consultant since 2010. This combination of operational and consulting experience has given him a broad perspective on beverage programs, from product selection and cocktail development to guest experience and the commercial realities of running a successful bar.

Prior to joining The Clayton, James served as Bar Manager and Head Bartender at Simon Pearce Restaurant in Vermont and as Beverage Director at Oakes & Evelyn. He also spent more than eight years at PINE in Hanover, New Hampshire, progressing through roles as Lead Bartender and Bar Manager.

His career across bartending, beverage direction and hospitality consulting gives James a strong understanding of how spirits perform in real-world on-premise environments and what beverage professionals consider when selecting products for their programs.

As a judge at the Bartender Spirits Awards, James brings both a bartender’s palate and a beverage director’s commercial perspective to the judging panel, evaluating spirits for their quality, value, versatility and relevance to today’s bar industry.