Chaunci King has spent the last two years building her liquor empire. As CEO of Royalty Spirits, the native Portlander is one of the rare women in the booze industry. After nearly 20 years working in the corporate recruiting world and moonlighting as a bartender, King channeled her business and service experience into her pear-flavored vodka, Miru, which is now available in 84 percent of Oregon liquor stores. King recently won the Portland Development Commission's Startup PDX Challenge, which included time with Wieden & Kennedy branding experts. On top of all that, she has a side hustle, Maven in Business, where she organizes events for women entrepreneurs—all with her eyes set on global domination.

On this episode of The Long Play, King talks about being one of the few African-American women in a white and male-dominated industry, her goals for an all-women distillery, and her favorite bars in Portland.

Download the Long Play on iTunes.

Audio production by Samala Coffey