Meet Katharine Jerkens | Chief Business Officer of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey

We had the good fortune of connecting with Katharine Jerkens and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katharine, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Personally, it’s a drive I have had since I was little. My parents would tell me about walking into my room and seeing me “teach” my stuffed animals. Every year, from about 6 years on, I would approach my mom with a clipboard, ready to plan my birthday. I was a doer from an early age! The desire to win, to achieve, and to continue to push forward has always kept me moving in the right direction. For this brand, well, we have help from so many sources. Our Founder, Fawn Weaver’s tenacity, the story itself, the help from above, and the team we have built that has become family. It’s truly the biggest gift.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have had a job since I was 11 years old. I come from a modest middle class background, where my parents were both in education. I never had a want for anything, but I was also not handed everything I wanted. (The way it should be). I had babysitting jobs, summer jobs, some of them not the sexiest, but always jobs that taught me something. I knew at an early age that I was a planner and a host, and that took me into event planning, and eventually into hotel sales and marketing. What I realized then is that I was good at sales, but I loved the process and the training, and overall, I loved leading. I was a VP of a hotel company at 29, and that experience drove my passion for leadership, as well as taught me what I needed to look for in a work culture. I have spent a lot of time trying to figure that piece out, and with Uncle Nearest, I have been able to be a part of creating the culture, which is a huge blessing.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I have lived in Los Angeles since 1997, and it wasn’t until the Pandemic that I really discovered all of the amazing hiking that can be done here! So, hiking Westridge would be the start to one day, and then I would immediately have someone drive to Malibu. There is something about that drive on PCH, it can lower anyone’s blood pressure. I would hit up Broad Street Oyster Company for a lobster (lobstah) roll and some rose, and then probably want to do some shopping, before heading to Nobu for a cocktail, sushi and people watching! Truth be told, I am Westside all the way, so the rest of the time would be exploring Santa Monica (Shutters, Wally’s, Capo), as well as playing on Abbot Kinney, and ending at either Gjelina or the Tasting Kitchen. I know that riding Birds is a cool way to get around, but after a couple of falls, I am all about an Uber or a bike ride…always ends better for me. 🙂

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
For me, it starts with other female leaders I have had in my life. The one that stands out the most is Janne Clare, who was my General Manager at the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills (several years ago). I hadn’t met other female general managers in the hotel business, and she was a mom and a very accomplished career woman with so much confidence and the ability to command a room. She taught me so much in my early career, and she also called me out on my sh*t, which I truly needed. I would also say that my years at an all-girls Catholic school, Santa Catalina in Monterey, gave me a lot of confidence to learn and lead without distraction and with conviction.

Website: https://unclenearest.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allbizklj/ https://www.instagram.com/unclenearest/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katharine-jerkens-2589b83/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/unclenearest

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcfM0XBsHSQRB18ssOImb_g

Image Credits
Headshot (Credit: Leslie Bird) Photo of barrels (Credit: Stacy Preston) Photo of sign/distillery (Credit: Stacy Preston) Team photo (Credit: Eric Anderson) Photo of bottles (Credit: Image Courtesy of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey) Historical imagery (Credit: Image Courtesy of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey)