Right About Now – Legendary Business Advice

Episode: How Brett Berish Built Billion-Dollar Spirit Brands by Ignoring Industry Rules | Sovereign Brands

Host: Ryan Alford | Guest: Brett Berish, CEO of Sovereign Brands
Date: January 30, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of Right About Now features Brett Berish, the dynamic CEO of Sovereign Brands (makers of Bel Air, Bumbu, McQueen, and The Deacon). Host Ryan Alford digs deep into Brett's unconventional, brand-building philosophy, examining how breaking industry rules, focusing on taste and authentic storytelling, and championing flexibility have positioned Sovereign as a billion-dollar giant in the spirits space. The conversation is raw, candid, and loaded with punchy advice for entrepreneurs craving results over business-school platitudes.

Key Discussion Points

1. Building Businesses Like a Comedian

• Brett’s Philosophy: Brett likens business to stand-up comedy: constant iteration based on real audience feedback.
  • Quote: “When a comedian goes on stage and tells a joke, they get the audience reaction, and then they tweak it for the next time… and it could be 20, 30 times before they're tweaking that same joke and it nails it by the end. And to me, that's business.” (00:00)
• Takeaway: Success is about learning, pivoting, and evolving with every “audience” response—be it the consumer or the trade.

2. Radical Culture and Self-Expression

• Brett and Ryan riff on radical company cultures—hiring for boldness and celebrating rule-breakers.
  • Quote (Brett): “What’ll get you fired at any other company will get you hired by mine.” (01:18)
  • Ryan on his own agency: “Our name is fucking Radical. Client, you have the license to live up to this name every day.” (01:42)
• Takeaway: Brand DNA must manifest in how you act, hire, and interact with clients—embrace radical thinking, top to bottom.

3. Origins: Why Spirits?

• Brett followed in his father’s footsteps, despite initial resistance from his dad who hoped for a different path.
  • Quote: “He really wanted me to do finance…which I started out doing, but I veered back into [spirits] and I have never looked back.” (02:36)
• On Not Knowing: Brett empathizes with those unsure of their career choices—emphasizing the struggle and importance of finally committing.
  • Quote: “It sucked for 10, 12 years until I picked something and I picked this industry and stuck with it.” (03:08)

4. Navigating the Outdated, Complicated Liquor Industry

• Brett explains the U.S. three-tier system—its roots in Prohibition and the quirks that still plague the business (e.g., South Carolina’s old mini-bottle law).
  • Quote: “The industry hasn't changed…three tier system…it's fucked up, but it works.” (04:00)
• International markets can be even stranger, but thriving means “figuring out how to make it work for you.” (06:33)

5. Making Irreverence Work: Brand Personality & Flexibility

• Brett prides himself on challenging stale, “hoity-toity” industry norms.
  • Quote: “Sometimes not having a plan is a great plan... be really flexible... that's how I built the business.” (07:35)
• Hiring Mindset: Only leaders, no order-takers.
  • “If they're waiting for me to tell them what to do, they're too late. That's not the person for us.” (07:50)

6. The Core Sovereign Brands Thread: Taste Rules Everything

• Brett disavows traditional taste panels in favor of “does it taste better than the competition, yes or no?”
  • Quote: “If it doesn't taste good, Ryan, they're never going to come back again... It's the taste that's going to dictate everything.” (09:19)
• All the marketing in the world won’t rescue a bad product; taste is the ticket to authentic, lasting word-of-mouth.

7. The Role of Celebrity and Influencer Endorsements

• Brett is unequivocal: celebrity can’t save a bad product.
  • Quote: “…If the song's not good, it won't play…if the taste isn't good, no matter how big the celebrity is, it's not going to work.” (10:30)
• Packaging and design matter, too, especially for challenger brands.

8. Attention to Brand Detail: Packaging, Story, & Meaning

• Brett and Ryan deep-dive the storytelling in every detail—like The Deacon’s Scottish symbolism and the sensory feel of the bottle.
  • Quote: “Everything has meaning to me. And I needed [it] to live and breathe in the brand. I need to believe in it.” (12:48)
  • On consumer experience: “That shit matters and people pick up on it.” (13:29)
• Packaging is as much about experience as it is about standing out on the shelf.

9. Mass Appeal vs. Niche—Breaking the Rules

• Brett challenges the “riches in the niches” adage by refusing to play demographic or geographic favorites.
  • Quote: “I believe in selling to everybody. Everybody. Because the consumer who likes it is the consumer... So I want to sell to everybody.” (13:41)
• Great products can win in markets you’d never predict (example: Bumbu’s unexpected dominance in Canada and Eastern Europe).

10. The Power (and Necessity) of Personal Brand

• Only recently did Brett embrace his own role as a brand-builder and face of the business.
  • Quote: “People started coming to me and thinking, I've always been successful. And my response is, no, that's not true. I went through shit. I lost my house. I had the IRS sweep my bank account. I lost everything in this business.” (15:19)
• Motivation comes from honesty—sharing failures to inspire and instruct.

11. Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

• Be self-reliant and embrace flexibility.
  • Quote: “…the key is don’t rely on anyone. That’s the key.” (16:58)
• Tagline: “Self made tastes better.” (17:00)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On learning by doing: “If you have the wrong plan and you don't pivot, then you can get stuck somewhere spinning your wheels for a lot longer than you should have.” – Ryan Alford (08:24)
• On product rumor and myth: “Our biggest single market in the world outside the US is Canada…We crush it in places like Latvia, Romania, Poland, where rum isn't a thing, but they love bumbu.” – Brett Berish (14:27)
• On transparency: “That’s the most important story to tell if you’re successful.” – Brett Berish, about sharing his failures and journey (15:19)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – 01:16: Brett’s “comedy” approach to business and company culture
• 02:07 – 03:32: Origin story—why Brett chose spirits
• 03:56 – 06:33: The business of liquor, peculiarities of the three-tier system, and adapting to a convoluted industry
• 07:35 – 08:44: Embracing irreverence, radical hiring, and the value of flexibility
• 09:19 – 10:13: The unbreakable rule: taste rules all
• 10:13 – 11:18: The role of celebrities and why packaging is essential
• 12:15 – 13:41: Packaging and storytelling, extra attention to sensory brand details
• 13:41 – 14:27: Debunking the myth of “niches” and anecdotes about surprise markets
• 15:04 – 16:26: Brett’s journey to embracing his personal story and personal branding
• 16:39 – episode close: Final advice, find Brett and his brands online, parting motivation

Wrap-up

Brett Berish pulls back the curtain on what happens when you stop imitating the giants, break the rules, and build brands with soul, story, and the courage to learn (and fail) in the open. He champions personal authenticity, resilience, and making meaning in every product interaction. Sovereign’s billion-dollar ascent is no accident—it’s the result of relentless self-reinvention and choosing to taste your own success.

Connect with Brett:

• Instagram: @BrettBearish
• Brands: Deacon Whiskey, Bumbu, Bel Air, McQueen Violet Fog, and more.

Best advice in five words?
“Self made tastes better.” (17:00)