No Liquor License? No Problem. Premium Blend Cocktails Is Disrupting the Industry Pt. 1

The Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast

Ever wonder why your favorite neighborhood restaurant doesn't serve cocktails? Chances are it comes down to one thing: the liquor license. In many states, a full liquor license can run well into six or seven figures on the open market — making it virtually impossible for small and mid-sized venues to offer a full bar program.

That's exactly the problem Gino Santos and his brother Henry set out to solve with Premium Blend Cocktails. Their wine-based spirits are legally classified as wine — meaning any venue with a basic beer and wine license (which in Florida costs around $400) can serve them. The result? Cocktail-style drinks, no liquor license required.

In this episode, Gino explains:

  • Why liquor licenses are so expensive and hard to obtain
  • How Premium Blend products are formulated to qualify legally as wine
  • The difference between a liquor license and a beer-and-wine license — and why it matters for thousands of venues
  • How his family escaped Cuba thanks to an uncle who literally stole a boat
  • Growing up bilingual in Newark and Miami with a famous Cuban singer-songwriter father

@thebestwinepod

Discover More from The Best 5 Minute Podcast Network:

Wine Podcast

Music Podcast

Travel Podcast


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

More description

Ever wonder why your favorite neighborhood restaurant doesn't serve cocktails? Chances are it comes down to one thing: the liquor license. In many states, a full liquor license can run well into six or seven figures on the open market — making it virtually impossible for small and mid-sized venues to offer a full bar program.

That's exactly the problem Gino Santos and his brother Henry set out to solve with Premium Blend Cocktails. Their wine-based spirits are legally classified as wine — meaning any venue with a basic beer and wine license (which in Florida costs around $400) can serve them. The result? Cocktail-style drinks, no liquor license required.

In this episode, Gino explains:

  • Why liquor licenses are so expensive and hard to obtain
  • How Premium Blend products are formulated to qualify legally as wine
  • The difference between a liquor license and a beer-and-wine license — and why it matters for thousands of venues
  • How his family escaped Cuba thanks to an uncle who literally stole a boat
  • Growing up bilingual in Newark and Miami with a famous Cuban singer-songwriter father

@thebestwinepod

Discover More from The Best 5 Minute Podcast Network:

Wine Podcast

Music Podcast

Travel Podcast


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

2026-07-23 6 min
Listen elsewhere

Available Results

Generated results are saved to your library for reuse and search.

No generated results are available for this episode yet.

Transcript

No transcript is available for this episode yet.
Sign in to generate a transcript for review.
Sign in

Chapters

No chapters available.