The Many Facets of Kami Kenna

Kami recently described herself as a Matryoshka doll, her layers unstacked by life experiences, a journey of self-awareness as she progresses through her career. However, when I think of Kami, I envision a mass of snow tumbling down a steep slope, accumulating the necessary mass to gain force, avalanching to its destination.

In the case of Kami, both metaphors apply. She is introspective like the innermost Matryoshka. But like an avalanche, she is also indomitable. Kami is multi-faceted; an avid researcher, activist, spirits specialist, distiller, businesswoman and visionary leader. Determined but intuitive while fulfilling those roles, she cares for her community as she continues her crusade.

Many exciting endeavors await my business partner. Drink a Seat, a blog that documents her extensive knowledge of food and drink, will become a wild success. She will complete a Master’s degree in Food Studies at NYU (yes, I said NYU!) where she will continue her research on Peruvian pisco, mezcal and beyond. Her sustainable distillery will revolutionize the way people think about liquor. She will change mentalities through education through her future podcast. Kami won’t stop until PiscoLogía is the best, most widely distributed pisco in the world. More importantly, she will care for the earth and its people while reaping its precious edible ingredients.

Kami’s past experiences gave her the tools to spearhead a path to success. As a young child, she used to spend numerous hours at her grandparents’ pharmacy in Northern Idaho. She passed the time by observing the business operations and playing with the cash register, punching random numbers to record imaginary sales. Her grandpa reproached her carelessness. Little did he know, his granddaughter was learning how to run a business and how to be accountable. Kami also experimented with food in her kitchen as an adolescent, learning to combine flavors, aromas and ingredients, information she would use in the future to become one of the best bartenders in the Northwest.

It was in the Portland community that she found her sense of belonging and the drive to learn more. She moved there at the age of 18, training under the best bartenders at her uncle’s bar, the Brazen Bean. Years later, the lessons learned from that apprenticeship led her to win a cocktail competition. The grand prize was a trip to Peru. Throughout all this, her past was the force behind her – observing her grandparents’ business, food experimentation, and mixing ingredients with liquor to create masterpieces.

In Peru, Nati and I recognized her talent, industry knowledge and intuition. Inviting her to become partner of PiscoLogía was the obvious choice. She built the concept that encapsulates our craft pisco brand now. But she didn’t stop there. She moved to Mexico to become a specialist in tequila and mezcal, now giving tours to inquisitive minds from around the globe. However, for Kami, these monumental steps are part of the process of achieving something even greater.

Kami’s path started with tiny punches of numbers, spitting out the register tape of life, imaginary scenarios that would one day play out in her career. Nati and I are fortunate to be this trajectory with her, our forces coming together to reach our final goal. Her innermost Matryoshka epitomizes perfection, but I see it growing rather than retreating. It’s grander than she thinks- a tremendous mass gaining momentum, advocating for change, lifting up others and building empires.

-Meg