Meet Founder of High-Proof Creative, Karen Locke

Hey there! Karen here, founder of High-Proof Creative. I’m proud to be one of the few woman-owned creative agencies in the craft distilling industry. I get asked a lot about my background, and how I became involved with craft beverage brands, so here’s a breakdown of some of my experience, favorite beverages, and more. 

Background & Experience

• Nearly 10 years of editorial writing about booze for magazines like GQ magazine, Bon Appétit, Thrillist, Sip Northwest, Chilled magazine, OnTrak magazine, Tales of the Cocktail, Willamette Week
• Creative, and marketing agency experience in Portland since 2011
• Board member, Women’s Distillery Guild – 2018
• Board member, Portland Culinary Alliance – 2019
• Tended bar, and served while living in Minneapolis, and after moving to Portland
• Worked in one of Portland’s still existing food carts called Flavour Spot (still hate making waffles to this day)
• B.A. Journalism, and Mass Communication from University of Minnesota, and A.A. Marketing & Advertising

Favorite Beverages Right Now

• Amari, amari, amari
• Aged or barrel rested rum
• Basque cider
• Green-bottled beer

Recent Projects

• Small-Batch Maps available now!
• “High-Proof PDX,” a guidebook to distillery room tasting in Portland – 2017

Non-Work Related

• Born and raised in Iowa (no, not Ohio or Idaho)
• Lived in Minneapolis before moving to Portland (awesome distilling scene going down there!)
• Loves: dark bars, theater, camping, museums, commuting by bicycle

Weird/Fun Facts

• Produced Fruit by the Foot one summer at General Mills
• Studied/learned the Thai language in an immersion program in Khon Kaen, Thailand
• Made a television personality drink straight vodka on air