How to Win in Off-Premise Wine & Spirits Retail | Ryan Gill, Three Chord Bourbon

On this episode, we’re joined by Ryan Gill, the Director of Marketing at Three Chord Bourbon, and a spirits industry veteran with deep roots in off-premise retail.Before joining the team at Three Chord, Ryan spent over a decade running top-tier off-premise locations across the South, managing $XXM+ stores and building high-performance teams. That front-line retail experience gave him a rare lens on what really moves bottles - insights he now brings to one of the fastest-growing bourbon brands in the U.S.Ryan unpacks how his time on the floor shaped his philosophy on brand building, distributor management, and the power of field marketing. He shares tactical advice for emerging brands trying to stand out on crowded shelves, plus his playbook for training retail staff, building local market awareness, and executing limited drops that actually drive velocity.We also dive into Three Chord’s unique origin story, why music plays into their blending process, and how they’re scaling into 40+ states while staying connected to the whiskey community.—---------------Episode Highlights:🏪 What 10 years in off-premise retail taught Ryan about winning in spirits 📊 Why so many brands misunderstand the off-premise buyer 🛒 Tactical tips for activating in retail without huge budgets 🏀 How spirits distribution has become like the NBA 🥃 How Three Chord Bourbon trains retailers to become brand evangelists 🎸 From guitar riffs to mash bills: Three Chord’s musical roots 📍 Building a national brand with limited resources 🔁 Navigating the 3-tier system from the brand side 🧃 Lessons in merchandising, demos, and field marketing—---------------Table of Contents:00:00 – Intro & Retail Background05:00 – Lessons from Off-Premise Retail & Frontline Sales12:00 – Joining Three Chord & Shifting to Brand Side18:30 – Field Marketing & Retail Training25:00 – Limited Drops & Community Building30:00 – Scaling Distribution with Focus40:00 – Final Thoughts & Industry Advice—---------------Links:Three Chord Bourbon – https://www.threechordbourbon.com Follow Ryan on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-gill-3chord/ Follow me on LinkedIn – Adam Steinberg  For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out KitPrint.Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes.