Master Spirits Knowledge Through Interactive, Game-Based Learning.
SpiritsIQ transforms spirits education into an engaging journey. Learn at your own pace with bite-sized lessons, interactive challenges, and gamified experiences designed for both beginners and professionals.
EXPERT CONTENT
Comprehensive Curriculum
From distillation basics to advanced cocktail techniques, curated by industry experts.
INTERACTIVE
Hands-On Challenges
Engaging quizzes, drag-and-drop activities, and practical exercises that make learning stick.
GAMIFICATION
Progress & Rewards
Track streaks, earn achievements, and level up as you build your spirits expertise.
Built on 50 years
of experience from both sides of the bar
Spirits iQ is the drinks industry's first brand-agnostic, gamified micro-learning platform for spirits advocacy and education.
Founded by Jen Baernreuther and Hannah Lanfear, Spirits iQ brings together decades of experience across commercial leadership, hospitality, spirits education and advocacy.
Throughout their careers, they repeatedly encountered the same challenge: getting a bottle onto the bar doesn't mean it will sell. The people behind the bar need the knowledge and confidence to recommend it.
In 2021, Jen and Hannah brought their experience together to create Speciality Sessions, a category-first, brand-supported education programme, combining structured spirits learning with quizzes, competition and incentives.
It proved the appetite for credible, engaging spirits education, but also highlighted the limitation of traditional advocacy:
It works, but it's difficult and expensive to scale.
Spirits iQ is the digital evolution of that experience: designed to make high-quality spirits education accessible at scale, while creating a new, measurable advocacy channel for brands.
The Founders :
A combined half century of drinks industry expertise with a proven track record in innovative advocacy including launching and running Speciality Sessions, the industry's first hybrid of omni-brand category seminar and competition.
Jen Baernruther
Chief Executive Officer
- •Commercial drinks industry leader
- •Master of Business Administration
- •Board Trustee of the Drinks Trust
- •Executive Director responsible for Speciality Sessions
Hannah Lanfear
Chief Product Officer
- •Internationally renowned spirits educator
- •Founder of The Mixing Class, world's leading independent supplier of WSET Spirits education
- •MASc in Interdisciplinary Problems and Methods
- •Author and educator of Speciality Sessions
Why this team wins: Deep Industry Expertise, Global Network Access, Proven Education Innovation
Our Advisory Board:
Our aim is to build a board that complements our skillset, with a balanced representation of both tech industry thought leaders, spirits advocacy experts, and on-trade authority.
Deborah Casswell
Executive Creative Director at Nexus Studios, delivering projects for global tech firms such as Meta, including mindfulness app, Headspace.
Claire Warner
Currently a strategic advisor to the spirits industry. Claire is also Co-founder of /Scorn Aperitifs, former Head of Luxury Advocacy at Diageo, and Head of Spirit Creation at Belvedere.
Alex Day
Renowned bartender, author (including Cocktail Codex), and co-owner of acclaimed US cocktail bars, Death & Co, Honeysut, Nitecap, and Chapter & Verse.
Get Ready to Master Spirits & Bartending
SpiritsIQ is launching soon. Be the first to know when our five-minute masterclasses go live.