"KIN was founded by Bernard Lax after years of him and his best friend sourcing moonshine from Georgia and eventually making their own in a small, makeshift distillery in Venice Beach. After perfecting the recipe they loved, they decided it was time to share it with California by contract-distilling the formula they had been using for years. Later, Bernard brought on his son, Taylor, and his nephew, Eric, to help carry on his passion and introduce KIN to bars, restaurants, and liquor stores throughout the state.

During the pandemic, Bernard’s son Taylor was managing a bar program when his top-selling banana cocktail hit a major roadblock — imported banana liqueurs became difficult to get. With ownership pushing for a solution and nothing on the market tasting like *real* banana, he decided to make his own. Remembering how people always said his family’s white whiskey had a natural plantain note, he realized it would be the perfect base for a homemade banana liqueur — and the first version of KIN A-Peel was born.

The original recipe began humbly in a simple sous-vide bag, using overripe banana peels and fruit infused directly into their white whiskey. Scaling that small-batch idea into a commercial product became a much bigger journey, taking nearly four years to perfect. During that time, Bernard unexpectedly passed away. It was an incredibly difficult moment for the family, especially since he had always been a huge fan of the homemade banana liqueur Taylor created using the whiskey he loved. His passing made the project even more personal. Rather than slowing down, it strengthened Taylor’s commitment to honoring his dad’s work and carrying Bernard’s legacy forward through the spirit they created together."