top of page
All Posts


Alcohol 101: Free Beverage Alcohol Training for Retail Staff
If you manage or work in alcohol retail, having a well-trained staff is essential. Whether you run a liquor store, grocery store, convenience shop, or bottle shop, your employees need to understand how alcohol works, how it is categorized, and how to serve it responsibly.
Mathew Benoit
Nov 22, 20255 min read


Low/No Alcohol, RTDs, and Premiumization: Top Alcohol Industry Trends for 2025
The alcoholic beverage industry is evolving quickly, and 2025 is set to be a defining year for key trends. Among the most impactful shifts are the rise of low/no-alcohol drinks, the explosion of ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails, and the continued premiumization of spirits and other beverages.
Mathew Benoit
Oct 21, 20257 min read


How to Taste Alcohol Like a Pro: The 5-Step Method for Beer, Wine, and Spirits
Anyone can drink. Tasting is a different skill, and it's the one that separates a rep who moves product from one who just hands over a sample.
When you can taste with intention, you can describe what's in the glass, assess quality before you present it, match a customer to the right bottle, and justify a premium price in terms a buyer actually feels. That's true behind the bar, on the sales floor, and in front of an on-premise account. The good news is that tasting is learnab
Mathew Benoit
Sep 16, 20256 min read


Types of Whiskey Explained: A Product Knowledge Guide for Retail & Restaurant Staff
Whether you’re stocking shelves, serving cocktails, or answering guest questions, this course gives you the essential talking points you need to recommend whiskey with ease.
Mathew Benoit
Aug 27, 202511 min read


Spirits 101: A Plain-English Guide to Every Major Spirit Category
Spirits 101: a guide to the seven major spirit types, how they're made, how they taste, and how to recommend them. Free training for retail and bar staff.
Mathew Benoit
Aug 18, 20258 min read


De-escalation Training for Retail Staff: A Complete Guide
Strong customer service starts with the ability to manage difficult situations. That’s why we created the De-escalation and Conflict Management course on Learn Brands: a training built for real retail environments.
Mathew Benoit
Jul 21, 20255 min read


How to Stay Calm and Avoid Burnout Behind the Bar and on the Retail Floor
Support your team. Improve customer experience. Boost retention.
Retail environments like liquor stores, bars, tasting rooms, and distribution hubs can be high-pressure and fast-moving.
Mathew Benoit
Jul 7, 20255 min read


How to Sell Gin: Product Knowledge Guide for Retail and Distribution Teams
Gin is one of the harder spirits to sell well. The category exploded over the past decade, the styles vary wildly from one bottle to the next, and most shoppers walk in with a single fixed idea of what gin tastes like.
Mathew Benoit
Jul 7, 20256 min read


Closing the Knowledge Gap on Impaired Driving: The Learn Brands and CDOT Partnership
At Learn Brands, we believe education has the power to create safer communities. That’s why we’re proud to support the Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) latest initiative to better understand — and close — key knowledge gaps around impaired driving.
Mathew Benoit
Apr 29, 20253 min read


Activation Marketing for Beverage Alcohol Brands: A Playbook for Campaigns That Drive Sell-Through
Sampling, tastings, ride-alongs, trade events. Here's how beverage alcohol brands plan activation marketing campaigns that actually move cases off the shelf.
Mathew Benoit
Apr 1, 20256 min read
bottom of page