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On September 7, 2018
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