While on a gap year from college in Canada, Samantha Casuga decided to give the hospitality industry a try, starting out as a hostess at a wine bar in Calgary, Alberta. Inspired by her mentors there, she intended to go into the wine business. “But I ended up bartending a couple years later in Victoria, British Columbia and realized I was more suited to a life behind the stick,” she says. “I was trained and mentored by Simon Ogden, a local legend on the west coast of Canada, and he gave me the best start to my career I could have ever asked for. It was then that I decided this career could take me places I could only imagine, so I did everything I could to get my name out in the world.”

In 2015 Casuga moved back to Calgary to hold her first bar manager position at the agave spirits-focused Native Tongues, and she also began competing in local and national bartending competitions and traveling to the U.S. to network. By 2017 she was offered a position at one of the most renowned bars in the world, The Dead Rabbit in New York City. Having solidly made a name for herself, Casuga was approached by Sam Ross and Michael McIlroy—both big names in the New York City cocktail scene—in 2021 to join them on their new project, the reopening of NoHo institution Temple Bar.

As head bartender of Temple Bar, Casuga assists in curating the beverage program (most cocktails are $21-$23), which she says is “built on the foundation of classic cocktails, but presented on a platter of what we call ‘everyday opulence.’” This includes an extensive Martini selection, plus a variety of stirred options, such as Casuga’s Red Hot Love Affair ($23), featuring Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva rum, Cocchi Americano aperitif, Citral Lemongrass liqueur, and Peychaud’s bitters, and shaken ones, like her high-end offering, I Know Disco ($50), comprising Casa Dragones Reposado Tequila, Cocchi Americano, Giffard Abricot du Roussillon apricot liqueur, lemon juice, and honey, topped with Piper Heidsieck NV Brut Champagne.

In addition to her role at Temple Bar, Casuga is heavily involved in the industry festival Tales of the Cocktail and its Cocktail Apprentice Program, and in 2025 she launched her own consulting company focused on education, production, and bar program elevation. “I love to teach, collaborate, and share experiences with others,” she adds. “Whether it’s as head bartender, a mentor, or a bar consultant, I have endless opportunities for these moments.”