Market Sales Manager

About Good Trouble Bourbon

Good Trouble Bourbon is more than a spirit. It is a cultural platform. Inspired by the call to "get into good trouble," the brand celebrates the builders, dreamers, and people willing to challenge the status quo .

This is an opportunity to help build Chicago's bourbon brand . You will play a central role in growing a company that sits at the intersection of culture, music, leadership, and premium spirits . Rooted in the legacy of Chicago blues and the city's rich cultural history, Good Trouble Bourbon brings people together through story, music, leadership, and community .

Our mission is bold:

Make Good Trouble Bourbon Chicago's Bourbon.

To achieve this, we are building a leadership team that can grow the brand through culture, relationships, and strategic distribution.

Role Overview

We are seeking a Chicago Market Sales Manager to lead the growth of Good Trouble Bourbon across retail, hospitality, and cultural venues. This is not a traditional spirits sales role. The right leader will combine sales execution, cultural intelligence, and entrepreneurial drive to establish Good Trouble as a leading premium bourbon brand in Chicago. You will oversee distribution relationships, retail performance, ambassador teams, and strategic cultural activation's.

Key Responsibilities:

• Market Leadership
• Distributor Partnership
  • Work closely with distributor partners to ensure Good Trouble receives strong attention within the distributor portfolio to drive account placements, sales velocity and brand visibility.
• Retail & On-Premise Expansion

• Develop strategic placements in high-impact accounts including premium restaurants, cocktail bars, retail liquor stores and cultural venues
• Drive strong relationships with key Chicago retailers

• Ambassador Team Leadership

• Recruit, train, and manage the Good Trouble Cultural Host team.
• Ensure brand ambassadors deliver exceptional experiences that translate into sales.

• Cultural Activation Support

• Partner with leadership to execute brand activation's including tastings, cultural events, hospitality partnerships and community gatherings.

• Performance Tracking

• Monitor and report on account growth, retail velocity, event performance and market expansion opportunities.

The ideal candidate is a relationship-driven market builder who thrives in entrepreneurial environments. You are equally comfortable building relationships with bartenders, presenting to distributor leadership, hosting brand events, creating and executing creative in-market activation's and opening new retail accounts.

Preferred experience includes:

• Spirits industry sales
• Distributor portfolio management
• Hospitality or beverage experience
• Account management in Chicago
• Strong marketing acumen and network withing the Chicago hospitality community are highly valued.

S kills & Attributes

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Strong relationship-building ability
• Entrepreneurial mindset
• Cultural awareness and curiosity
• Disciplined sales execution

Compensation

• Competitive base salary
• Performance-based bonuses
• Opportunity to grow into regional leadership roles
• Participation in building a nationally recognized brand

To Apply

Please include:

• a short introduction
• relevant experience
• your perspective on how to build a spirits brand in Chicago

Inspired by legendary troublemakers like civil rights icon John Lewis who urged us to get into "good trouble, necessary trouble", Good Trouble bourbon is an award-winning Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey crafted at the historic DSPY-KY-10, the 10th oldest bourbon distillery in Kentucky, dating back to 1885.

Good Trouble Bourbon is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to provide equal employment opportunities in all employment practices. We will honor your experiences, perspectives, and unique identity.